Not Your Typical Christmas
by rocks at my window
Summary: The Wasabi Warriors are all pumped up and ready for Christmas, especially with a luxury cruise sponsored by Bobby Wasabi. But this Christmas may prove to be more eventful than they anticipated, with accidents, unwanted pop stars, and plenty of drama. -DISCONTINUED-
1. News, News, and More News

Chapter 1: News, News, and More News

**Hey! I'm here with my first ever full story, 'Not Your Typical Christmas'! Hope you guys like it!**

**Sorry if you find it's a bit too early to post a Christmas fanfiction, but like I've stated – I'm going on vacation this December so I need to post this slightly earlier.**

**As you guys have probably noticed, I changed my pen name to 'ThoseLovelyMemories'. I decided to do that after watching all my childhood videos. I've realized how much I miss being an innocent, little kid, who goes along with everything your parents say.**

**Onto the story! **

**Disclaimer: How I wish I could own this brilliant martial arts/comedy TV series. But alas, it is not meant to be, because I am just a twelve-year-old girl who hopes one day to become an author. **

**In other words, I do not own Kickin' It!**

I wrapped my gloved hands around my arms and rubbed them as I walked towards the mall where the Bobby Wasabi dojo was. So far, the winter weather had been pretty bad, with the temperature lower than previous years, and the early snow that had come falling in huge chunks.

I was walking right next to Jack, my shoulders against his. We were both heading to karate practice. Now don't get me wrong – we're not dating. I just needed as much body warmth as I could get. Besides, Jack would never go out with me, and I do not have a crush on him.

Or maybe I'm just in denial, and I just keep lying to my friends, family, and myself.

I'm saying this because things have been different with Jack lately. For one thing, we hang out a lot more, and often go grab some burgers, frozen yoghurt, or falafel balls _alone_. We've also been treating each other not only as friends – more like best friends, actually, since we do practically everything together. The weirdest part (and the part that makes me want to puke, but the part I must tell you about) is that whenever I see him, I always have this fluttery feeling in my stomach, and I would self-consciously adjust my top and pat my hair into place.

I shivered and chatted my teeth, adjusting the sky blue winter hat that was sitting on my blonde hair.

"The weather's been crazy," I muttered to Jack, resuming to rubbing my arms. "I can't believe how cold it is this winter."

Jack nodded and sighed. He didn't seem to have much of a problem with the chilly temperature, so I'm guessing he was just pretending to agree with me. "Yeah, I know. It's freezing. In fact, your lips are almost blue."

I self-consciously brushed my numb finger against my lips, not bothering to whack Jack on the back of the head or anything. Considering how cold I was, he was probably telling the truth.

We finally arrived in the dojo, and I sighed in relief as I walked through the doors, feeling the warmth of the heater wrap around me. Jerry, Milton, and Eddie were already there warming up. They've really improved in karate, and are already orange belts.

"What took you guys so long?" Rudy demanded, who had been previously rummaging through the metal cupboard at the back. "Practice started fifteen minutes ago."

"Maybe they were flirting," Milton chuckled, causing the rest of the guys (excluding Jack) to burst into fits of laughter. I lunged at them all, and startled, they immediately shut themselves up.

I smirked. Works every time.

"Plus, since when did you care about our punctuality anyway?" I questioned curiously, taking off my blue jacket to reveal a purple turtleneck.

"Yeah, you yourself are late half the time," Jack said, putting in his two cents.

To my surprise, Rudy didn't try to defend himself. Instead, he ran up to us in excitement and said, "Because I have a huge surprise for you guys, which I am planning on revealing after practice! So the earlier you guys get here, the earlier I get to tell you guys what the big surprise is!"

I rolled my eyes. "Why don't you just tell us right now?"

"Because…" Rudy started, trying to explain, but stopped and thought better of it. "Yeah you're right."

I smugly flipped my hair. "Kim Crawford is always right."

"So, do you guys remember when we won that Inter-Bobby Wasabi Dojo Competition?" Rudy started, as we all gathered ourselves around him. We all nodded. How on earth could we forget our less-than-a-fortnight-old victory?

"Well, Bobby had said before the competition that the winning dojo would receive a huge surprise present," he continued. "And today, our present has arrived in the mail!"

We all gasped in excitement, and my heart began thumping, wild thoughts dashing through my brain. What could the present be? Knowing how famous and wealthy Bobby was, it was bound to be something huge or luxurious.

Was it new dojo equipment? As much as I loved the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy, I had to admit that I missed the Black Dragon's state-of-the-art equipment.

Or was it a statue of Bobby Wasabi himself, which was to be placed next to the window for display and recognition of being the Number One dojo in the Bobby Wasabi chain?

"What is it?" Jack, who was sitting beside me on the bench, leapt up onto his feet.

"That's the thing. I wanted all of us to open the mail together and read it," Rudy said. "Just wanted to cultivate the spirit of teamwork. We all won the competition together, so we all get to open the big present."

We cheered. Good old Rudy!

I then noticed that something was amiss. There weren't any humongous, giant, or even medium-sized boxes or packages in the dojo _anywhere._Plus, I couldn't see anything in Rudy's office, even though I had a clear view of the entire room with its door ajar.

"Where's the big package?" I asked.

The rest of the gang then realized my point too, and their eyes began darting around, all shocked to find nothing big or luxurious.

"Guys! The present Bobby got us came in an _envelope_," Rudy said.

We all gasped, this time in shock. "Bobby Wasabi, the most famous karate action movie star in all time, gave us our big competition prize in an _envelope_?" Jack asked in surprise. He paused for a while. "It could be a big envelope."

Quite the contrary, actually, because the white-colored envelope Rudy pulled out of his pocket was not big at all. In fact, it was any ordinary envelope, with its stamp and address. Its only unique feature was that it was pale green.

"Come on guys, it's the thought that counts, not the size of this thing," Rudy said, ripping the envelope open. "For all you know, there could be a check for a thousand dollars sitting right in here."

I shrugged. I supposed that was a possibility.

Unfortunately, there was no thousand-dollar check in the envelope. The only thing Rudy found was a letter, handwritten in thick, black ink, by the one and only Bobby Wasabi. As he opened up the letter, a few slips of identical paper fell to the floor, but we all ignored it as Rudy read the letter.

Rudy read, "_Dear__ Rudy__ and__ his __loyal __Wasabi __Warriors. __As __you __all __know, __you __won __the __Inter-Bobby__ Wasabi __Dojo __Competition __a __fortnight __ago. __I __know __you __guys __were __all __expecting __a __bigger __present, __quite __a __bit __like __that __wax __statue __I __gave __you __guys __during __the __summer __heat__wave.__ But __apparently, __this __time, __it__'__s __not __like __that. __Your __present__ is __bigger __than __that __statue. __Do __you __notice __the __slips __of __paper __in__ the __letter? __They __are __tickets __for __the __5-star __luxury __cruise,__ '__Starshine__'__. __You __leave __on __19__th __December, __at __1.30__p.m., __and __return __on __26__th __December, __at __11__a.m. __Congratulations __for __winning __this __amazing __opportunity. __Yours __Truly, __Bobby __Wasabi.__"_

Immediately, cheers erupted from all of us and we began jumping around excitedly. Free tickets for the best luxury cruise of all time on 'Starshine'!

The guys all patted each other on the back, and I exchanged high-fives with them all. And caught up in the moment, I threw my arms around Jack and hugged him.

He was caught by surprise, and I could tell he felt uncomfortable because he stiffened up. I suddenly realized what I was doing, and hastily pulled away, my face red with embarrassment.

"Wait!" I called out, suddenly realizing something. I stood helplessly, watching the guys ignore me and keep dancing around (which, I have to say, was the most unpleasant sight). Jack saw my helpless expression, and raising his voice, yelled, "Guys! Kim has something to say!"

All the boys stopped bouncing around to listen, and I hastily thanked Jack before clearing my throat.

"What about our parents?" I asked.

Immediately, a worried buzz filled our dojo. Parents, sometimes – especially mine – can be pretty… I don't know… _traditional._ I knew that if I called and asked my parents, they probably wouldn't agree. They liked to celebrate Christmas the traditional way – with the whole family present, and at Grandma's.

"Don't worry guys, just call your parents now and ask," Rudy said in a reassuring tone of voice. "I mean, you guys earned this opportunity fair and square, and they should grant you the permission."

The guys all heaved sighs of relief and started fishing out their cell phones to ring up their parents. I, however, was not so reassured. My mom and dad – as I said – are very particular about how the family celebrates Christmas Day. If I'm not around, it would ruin their traditional Christmas dream.

My mom picked up after the third ring.

"Hey Mom," I said, trying to sound chirpy and to hide the nervousness in my voice.

"Hey Kim," Mom said, sounding slightly wary. "How unusual of you to call. What's up?"

I took a deep breath and asked, "Mom, I just want to ask you for permission to go on a luxury cruise this Christmas."

I could somehow sense that my mother was currently opening her mouth to say something, but I think I shut her up by quickly continuing, "You see, our dojo won a competition, and as the first prize, we get free tickets for a luxury cruise on the cruise liner, _Starshine. _We worked really hard to win, so I really hope you'll give me permission."

There was a long pause, and I was starting to get worried. Finally, Mom questioned, "Details?"

"We leave on 19th December, at 1.30 p.m., and return on 26th December, at 11 a.m."

There was another thoughtful silence before finally, those dreaded words came out, "Sorry Kim, but no can do."

I felt like bursting under the pressure of the unfairness of the situation.

"What?" I blurted out. "Why not? Mom, I already said, we won the competition after months of tough training – why can't I go?" How I wished I could just give my mum a good beating up – sometimes, living with my fussy, strict mother was frustrating.

"Because you are going to spend a traditional Christmas with us at Grandma's." Mom's answer made me want to push her off a cliff.

"Besides, you'll have your cousin Gretchen to accompany you," Mom continued, which made me want to groan even more.

"Spending Christmas at Grandma's is boring, because all the adults do is to sit around and talk, while the kids stare at each other awkwardly," I snapped. "Plus, I hate Gretchen! She's the cockiest nerd I know."

"Kim, stop thinking about yourself," Mom scolded firmly in her no-nonsense voice. "I'm pretty sure you know that Grandma has just underwent a knee surgery, so we all should pay her a visit!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah, and by 'just', you mean three months ago. And by 'pay her a visit', you mean going over and giving her money for her medical bills."

"Sorry Kim."

I felt like all the peppy spirit had been squeezed out of me, and was replaced by an overwhelming sense of darkness. Trying to contain my temper, and not to start yelling at the top of my lungs, I covered my cell phone and whispered to Jack, who was beside me, "My mom says no."

Jack's chocolate brown eyes, which were originally twinkling with happiness (I guess his mum agreed), were suddenly filled with worry, and he snatched the phone away from me and put it to his ear. Immediately, my stomach lurched uncomfortably. What was he doing?

"Hello Mrs. Crawford," Jack said politely. "I'm Jack, Kim's friend." After a short pause, he said, "I just want to talk to you about the cruise."

The first thought that flashed through my mind was, _No!_Oh, Jack did not know what he was getting into. Trying to have a civilized debate with my mom could possibly turn into a full-blown quarrel, complete with the yelling and screaming.

I urgently made hand signs to stop Jack, but he ignored me and kept talking. "Mrs. Crawford, with all due respect, our dojo earned his opportunity after many months of hard work. If you do not allow Kim to go on this cruise, it would be as if she didn't receive her prize."

I started mouthing words when the hand gestures didn't work out, but the obstinate boy still continued to debate with my mother. I could tell he was getting frustrated though, because his calm tone had a tinge of annoyance in it when he said, "Come on, Mrs. Crawford, be a good sport! Besides, I'm pretty sure Kim is tired of going to Grandma's house every year! Sometimes, you have to change it up."

Oh, he was going to get it.

"Jack! Quit it – now!" I hissed as loudly as possible. But as frustrated as he was, Jack kept talking.

"Please, Mrs. Crawford, I am now _begging _you! The trip wouldn't be any fun without Kim around!"

"Jack – wait, what?" I was just about to whisper to him again to stop it when I sudden thought occurred to me. Jack needed to have _me_ around to have fun?

The thought caused a cherry red blush to spread across my face.

After a long while of thinking for my mother on the other end, Jack's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he cheered, "Yes! Thank you so much Mrs. Crawford!"

He hung up and sort of _threw _my phone back to me, his face alight. "You get to go!"

I squealed and jumped on the tips of my toes. "Seriously?" I practically bouncing with joy at the prospect of skipping Grandma's house and boarding a luxury cruise ship with all my closest friends.

Jack nodded ecstatically and grabbed my shoulders, hopping up and down like a kangaroo with excitement. As his palms came into contact with my shoulders, tingles traveled down my spine, and I hoped I wasn't blushing again.

"Looks like we can all make it!" Rudy cheered, clapping his hands. We began exchanging high-fives again, and this time, I made sure I didn't get caught up in the moment and hug Jack.

"Alright, now, just to get into the Christmas spirit, I also decided to do a Secret Santas activity," Rudy said, raising his voice above the noise. This caused all of us to stop cheering. _Secret __Santas?_

"Rudy, seriously, Secret Santas?" Jack asked in horror.

Everyone seemed to mentally agree with him. What had gotten into Rudy's head to make us participate in a Secret Santas Activity? Having a Secret Santa was slightly nerve wrecking, since you had no idea who got your presents. Plus, if you had bad presents, you couldn't beat the person up because you had no idea who it was. And being a Secret Santa – don't get me started. What if you didn't like the person you were getting presents for? I guess amongst us Wasabi Warriors, we don't really hate each other, as we are a strong team together, but… still!

"Well, yeah," Rudy admitted sheepishly. "See, it's like getting gifts from one of your friends, but you have no idea who it is. It's really cool like that."

We all sighed. "Guess so," we said, our voices flat.

Rudy nodded. "So, just to clarify, here are the rules. You guys and I would each draw one name out of a hat. The name you see is the person you're getting gifts for – basically, you're that person's Secret Santa. And so, you have to buy gifts that would suit that person's taste every week. Then on Christmas Day, you give the person his last gift before revealing yourself. And since there are two weeks to Christmas Day, you have to get a total of three presents."

Now, despite the terrible Secret Santa activity my family tried to carry out last year (let's just say that my Secret Santa was my brother and he ended up getting me silly game cards and stuff that only _boys _liked), I couldn't help but feel a trill of excitement. Who would my Secret Santa be – and who Secret Santa would I be?

Plus, I was pretty sure the Wasabi Warriors were perfectly capable of buying nice gifts for me.

Right?

Suddenly, I began to have my doubts about Eddie and Jerry.

"Alright, now here's the hat, with all the names in it," Rudy said, presenting us with a baseball cap filled with six slips of white paper. "I'll draw first." He reached into the baseball cap, his fingers prancing around inside, trying to decide on which slip of paper to pick. Finally he made his decision, and passed the hat on to Eddie.

After his turn, Eddie passed it to Jerry, who passed it to Milton. They all looked pretty delighted with who they were going to be buying gifts for. I observed as Jack drew a slip of paper out of the hat and took a peek at it, his eyes flickering around the room afterwards. His eyes lingered on Eddie the longest, so I was guessing that he was Eddie's Secret Santa. I couldn't help but feel a wave of disappointment.

The hat finally reached me, and since I was the last to go, there was only one name left inside. A wild rush of thoughts dashed through my mind as I picked the slip of paper out of the hat and carefully opened it.

_Who am I buying gifts for? I'm hoping it's not Eddie. I don't really know what he likes or where to buy air freshener necklaces. Or what about Jack? I know what he likes, but the things he likes are already things he has._

My eyes flickered over to the piece of paper, and I read the name written in messy blue ink on it.

_JACK._

**So, how did you find the first chapter? Totally awesome? Pretty good? Okay? Bad? Terrible? Please comment and tell me!**

**Now guys, the reason why I ask for reviews is so that you guys can give me constructive criticism and tell me where the areas for improvement are. So please do so. I do love it when you guys tell me 'Update soon!' or 'Good chapter!', but in order for me to get better, I need constructive criticism. So please help me out by reviewing!**

**I watched 'Clash of the Titans' – it was a pretty good episode. I love how Kim and Jack both have the same reaction when Milton and Julie tell them both respectively that they're 'not their type'. LOL!**

**Plus I'm really excited, because Olivia Holt said in a few interviews that:**

**1. There's an episode where they go out of the country – I'm guessing Japan, since that's where karate originated!**

**2. She did an on-air kiss for Kickin' It – cross your fingers and hope it's with Leo, but there is a bad side to that. It means that they are probably dating already, and that would make them your cheesy romantic couple, which I don't really like.**

**3. Jack and Kim connect a bit more! Yay!**

**Alright, I've rambled long enough. Hope you guys like this chapter!**

**R&R!**

**~ThoseLovelyMemories**


	2. The Deadly Result of Tobogganing

Chapter 2: The Deadly Result of Tobogganing

**Hi! Thank you guys so much for the awesome reviews in the previous chapter! I didn't expect so many reviews – 13! – and neither did I expect you guys to love the story so much! Thank you once again! :D**

**Oh yes, if you guys are wondering in which interview I heard Olivia Holt talk about her Kickin' It kiss, it was her interview at the Twilight: Breaking Dawn premiere. You can find it on YouTube. This is a response to _NeonDuctTape413,__Blackbeltboyz101_ (anon), and _Maya_'s(anon) reviews.:)**

**Anyway, do you guys have a problem reading all the bolded text or italics in my stories? Because whenever I go look at my story on the site, I always see the words in bold or italic squished together, with no spacing. Tell me if you do. I'm really sorry though, if it affects your reading, but I've tried. I've succeeded in changing it for a few chapters, but for a few it didn't work, for some reason. I don't know what's causing it either.**

**Onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It. I only own the fictional venue in this chapter, Winter Valley Hill.**

I must admit, being Jack's Secret Santa is extremely hard. For one thing, he likes skateboarding and karate, so what am I supposed to get him? I can't get him a skateboard, since he already has that, and for karate, what's more to get him? A bow staff of four ounces of perfectly balanced graphite?

Possible. But where do you find such a bow staff? At the Black Dragon? No, that'll just be a bad idea.

How complicating.

I sighed and stared at the 'Steve's Skateboard Shop' sign that was hanging above the entranceway. Apparently, that was where Jack went to get all his skateboarding gear – his trusty skateboard, his helmet, and his elbow and kneepads. I was hoping I could find something in there.

Just as I was about to enter the shop, I felt my cell phone vibrate slightly in the pocket of my winter jacket. Flipping it open, I saw I had a text message from Jack. My heart started racing.

What was I thinking? It was just an ordinary text message from Jack, a perfectly ordinary friend.

**Going tobogganing w/ jerry, mil and ed winter valley hill. Hav all the toboggans alr. Want 2 join?**

Tobogganing! My eyes practically lit up just glancing at the message. It's been a few years since I've gone tobogganing, and I really miss doing so. I miss the winter gales whipping against my cheeks, and that wonderful feeling in your chest when you reach the bottom of the hill successfully.

**Sure. CU in 15 min. ;)**

Jack's present could wait. It's tobogganing time!

"Hey Kim! So glad you could make it," Jack greeted me cheerfully, hurrying over. I had reached Winter Valley Hill five minutes before the estimated time.

My cheeks flushed, and not just because of the chilly temperature.

"'Sup Kim!" Jerry yelled in his usual 'I'm a bad boy' voice. I laughed and waved at him.

"I'm about to totally own that mountain!" Jerry whooped, dragging his toboggan to the top of the hill. I chuckled. This ought to be good.

"WHOOP! LOOK OUT BELOW!" Jerry screamed, hopping onto the toboggan. Grabbing the strings for steering, he began zipping down the hill at top speed, going by in a blinding flash. The rest of us were chanting us name and pumping our fists energetically, cheering him on.

However, his success was short-lived, because the moment he reached the bottom, he fell of his toboggan and tumbled onto the soft, powdery snow. He stumbled upon getting up, staggering to his right and left slightly before finally stabilizing himself.

"WHOA!" Jerry cheered. I rolled my eyes. Seemed like he didn't really mind the fact that he didn't exactly have the best finish.

"Dude, you were awesome on the hill, but at the bottom, EH," Eddie criticized him, emphasizing on the 'eh'. Jerry stared at Eddie in shock and horror.

"For your information Eddie, that was total swag," Jerry retorted defensively.

"Oh come on, even _I_can do better than that," Eddie scoffed.

"Oh yeah?" Jerry challenged. "Then bring it on! We'll race and see who gets to the bottom of the hill first, _with_a big finish!"

"Bring it on!" Eddie pumped his fist into the air and grabbing his toboggan, began to struggle his way up the hill. Really, struggle his way up.

"Hey, why don't we _all_race?" Jack suggested loudly, catching our attention. "We could all pair up, but we have an odd number and somebody will have to sit out."

Milton's hand immediately shot up. The poor kid was quivering nervously. "I will," he announced. "I hate tobogganing. I only came along because the snow here is perfect for making snow angels." And to our surprise, he let himself fall backward onto the powdery snow, and began to move his arms up and down, and his legs left and right.

Weird.

After convincing Milton to give up his snow angel obsession and to be the judge, I said, "Okay, now all we need to do is to pair up." I couldn't help a little nervous myself when I said this. I seriously hoped I didn't end up with someone like Eddie (who couldn't toboggan but insisted he could), who would definitely put me in second place, a.k.a. last place.

Immediately, Jerry and Eddie clung onto each other, yelling in unison, "We're together!"

"I don't want to be with Kim," Eddie said, his voice wobbling as he lifted a stubby finger to point at me. "She'll kill me if she doesn't win."

Normally I would retort, but I had to agree with them. Being too competitive was one of my few flaws.

"So I'm with Jack," I said, heaving a sigh of relief. Thank God, no Eddie or Jerry for me.

That's when I realized something. If I was with Jack, that would mean I have to sit either behind or in front of him. And in order for the both of us to stay on the toboggan, the one at the back would have to wrap their arms around the one in the front…

Oh no. Get ready to blush like crazy and tingle like there's no tomorrow, Kim Crawford.

Jack flashed me a charming smile, which for some strange reason made me feel like fainting on the spot. I forced what I hoped was a convincing grin and grabbed a toboggan.

"So, who's in the front and who's at the back?" I asked as we began to trek our way up the hill.

Honestly, I had no preferences. Both ways are equally embarrassing.

"I'm supposing it's you," Jack replied. "Normally the smaller ones stay at the back, you know?"

I whacked him on the back of the head with my free hand.

"Sorry!" Jack held his hands up in surrender. "But you gotta admit that it's true. I mean, sometimes when those male motorcyclists want to take their girlfriends out for a spin, the girls are the ones at the back, aren't they?"

"Jack Anderson, that's the most sexist thing I've ever…"

Wait a minute…

"Did you just indirectly call me your girlfriend?" I asked slyly.

Jack's face turned red and he began to stutter. "No! I'm just… you know… trying to support my point. It's like a metaphor, in a way… I… I don't know, you get what I mean."

I noticed his tomato red face and began to blush, my body tingling slightly. He blushed! When I asked if he'd indirectly called me his girlfriend! And he stuttered – Jack Anderson rarely stuttered, only when he was nervous. What did it all mean?

Did it mean he liked me?

Well, not that I actually cared or anything.

I had no idea, and chose not to pry. It would just cause some more awkward conversation. I guess I'll just have to burst under the pressure of my query.

Oh, the complications of being a fourteen-year-old!

We reached the top of the hill, way before Jerry and Eddie, who were both still trooping their way to the top, panting furiously and moving at the speed slower than a snail's.

Finally, they reached the top, and we took our places. Jack hopped onto the toboggan first, grabbing the strings and clutching them tightly. I stared awkwardly at the space behind him, trying to push all the weird, blush-inducing thoughts out of my mind.

"Um, Kim? The race is starting soon. Hurry up," Jack urged.

I sighed and squeezing my eyes shut, slowly lowered myself down at the space behind him. Luckily, the toboggan was pretty big, so I didn't have to squish right up behind him.

"Okay, now wrap your arms around me to hold on," Jack urged again.

Oh crud, how incredibly embarrassing this was going to be.

I didn't bother whining or getting out of it, since I knew there was no way he was going to let me off. Tobogganing without holding onto something was pretty dangerous.

So, very reluctantly, I loosely put my arms around his waist. The minute my arms came into contact with Jack, my body grew alarmingly warm with embarrassment, and it was as if electricity was rushing through my veins.

I could feel myself getting warmer and warmer, and I tried to hide the spreading blush on my face with my blond hair (which I shall tell you now, did not work).

"On your marks!" Milton yelled.

Jack and I straightened up slightly.

"Get set!"

Jack and I both leaned forward, our eyes focused on the hill in front of us.

"TOBOGGAN!" Milton screamed like a caveman, pumping his fists into the air.

Immediately, Jack and I pushed off, and off we went!

The first part of the hill was a gentle slope, and we cruised down it with ease, taking the head start because Jerry and Eddie had a delayed reaction. I felt the frosty winds whipping wildly against my cheeks, sending my blond hair flying behind me. I couldn't help but let out a laugh. I hadn't had this much fun in years!

The hill started getting steeper and steeper, but Jack and I remained unfazed and we kept going strong down the slope, speedily avoiding the exposed patches of ice on the snow. We were still in the lead!

Towards the end was when bad things started happening.

Jack had seen Jerry and Eddie close to catching up, and immediately leaned forward even more, putting on a slight burst of speed as he sped forward. He was used to the speed, but I wasn't. I'd never gone so fast on a toboggan before, and our lightning speed was starting to freak me out. Furthermore, the steeper the slope got, the faster we went, and the faster we went, the less control Jack had of the toboggan.

I could tell Jack was starting to panic as well, because he started to tense up and swerve quickly out of any obstacle's way.

"You guys are going down!" Jerry yelled over to us. Panicking, I saw them gaining on us – in fact, we were nearly neck and neck.

Jack, momentarily distracted by Jerry, failed the notice an alarmingly slippery-looking patch of ice coming up. The minute I saw us heading towards the ice, my brown eyes flew wide open and I slapped his shoulder, snapping him back to reality. When he saw what I was looking at, he panicked as well, and fumbled with the string to steer us safely out of the way.

But it was too late.

Everything seemed to happen in a blur. Our toboggan hit the ice and began zipping towards the bottom of the hill at breakneck speed. It careened off the slope and my heart nearly stopped as it changed its course of path and began zooming over to a cluster of pine trees. Jack's grip on the strings became tighter, and even though I clutched onto his waist as tightly as I could, the impact still threw me right off the toboggan. I flew through the air, skidded across another patch of ice, and my head collided with a tree trunk. I heard frantic voices and the alarmed scuffle of snow boots before something happened.

Darkness swallowed me.

I heard distant voices, which seemed to grow louder and louder. Those voices concern, anxiety, worry, and urgency. My mind was still whirling, and I felt overwhelming giddy.

Suddenly, I realized something. Why was I lying down?

I stirred slightly, blinking my eyes. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice cry, "Guys! She's waking up!"

Jack.

I finally managed to open my eyes fully, ignoring my throbbing head. My vision was slightly blurred, but I could still roughly make out who was who - the one with the huge brown curls was my mother, and the blond with neat hair next to her was Dad. Just behind, a short African-American, a tall dark-haired teen, and a skinny boy with red hair had let go of each other in relief. In front of my bed (what?) was a bald man in a white coat... A doctor, I supposed. And right opposite my parents, the one standing the closest to me, was Jack, with his chocolate brown hair and eyes filled with concern. He looked the most worried out of them all.

"Kim! You're awake!" Jerry whooped, before letting out his signature "Whoa!" I heard sighs of relief, and quickly took in my surroundings. Pastel green walls, the smell of medicine, and medical equipment - I was in the hospital.

"What happened?" I managed to croak, struggling to sit up. The doctor hastily dashed forward and gently pushed me back into my lying position.

"You were knocked out," Jack explained. To my surprise, his voice was tremulous. "After you hit the tree trunk, you lost consciousness and also broke your ankle. We immediately phoned the hospital and your parents."

For the first time since I awoke, I realized that my ankle was propped up in a cast, and moving it even the slightest bit caused unbearable pain shooting through it.

"Kim, why did you go tobogganing without my permission?" Mom demanded in fury. Aside from the worry on her face, she still had that tinge of anger in her expression. "Look at what happened! You fell unconscious and broke your ankle!"

So much for being concerned about me.

"Mrs. Crawford, don't blame Kim." It was Jack who spoke. "It was my fault. We were paired up and having a tobogganing race, and it was because of my terrible controlling skills that Kim fell towards those trees. I'm sorry."

My parents' expressions softened slightly, but they still glared at me. I tried to ignore their furious stares, but I really couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

I sighed. My life was never smooth sailing.

That's when it struck me. The cruise!

"And you're not allowed on the cruise," Mom added sternly, almost as if she had read my thoughts. I drew in a sharp breath, almost as if I'd been stabbed in the heart.

"Mom!" I protested. "You can't do that - I earned the trip fair and square and I deserve to go!"

"Mrs. Crawford, it is okay if she goes on the cruise," the doctor said. "She's just not allowed to do anything strenuous."

"So?" Mom demanded fiercely, edging towards the doctor threateningly. "Her recklessness was part of the reason for her injury, so we aren't allowing her on the cruise."

Upon seeing the doctor back away in alarm, Dad placed a gentle hand on Mom's shoulder, pulling her back slightly.

"Honey, calm down," Dad said soothingly. "Let's try to be reasonable here. Kim probably thought it was okay to go tobogganing without permission because she has tobogganed before. Plus, it was an accident, and it was neither she nor Jack's fault. Perhaps we could still punish her – but not by taking away her cruise opportunity."

Mom's tensed shoulders relaxed themselves, and she sighed. "I suppose I am being a bit unreasonable. Kim, you can still go on the cruise," she gave in reluctantly.

"WHOOP!" us kids all cheered in unison, clapping and jumping about. The boulder that was weighing be down before seemed to have finally tumbled off my shoulders.

"Kim, you can go!" Jack cheered. To my surprise, he suddenly reached and grabbed my hands, clutching them tightly as he said those words. I was definitely shocked, and not only by his unusual gesture, but also by the fact that my face was turning redder and redder. I quickly cleared my throat.

"Oh… sorry." Jack hastily let go of my hands, his face turning red himself.

"We'll decide on your punishment after the cruise," said Dad. "Right now, Mom and I are going to go pay the medical bill." He then ushered Mom right out of the room, with the doctor tagging behind.

"We're going too," Eddie said, looking flushed from all the excitement. "I saw a Captain Corndog outside the hospital. Jerry, Milton and I are gonna go fill our bellies." He rubbed his stomach for effect before dragging the dark-haired Spanish and the skinny nerd out of the room.

And then, it was just Jack and I.

"Look Kim," Jack said sincerely, the minute everyone had left. "I am so sorry for losing control of that toboggan. It was all because of me that you fell, hit your head, lost consciousness, and broke your ankle. Plus, you nearly lost your chance of getting to go on the cruise."

I shrugged, still smiling. "It's alright. It's not entirely your fault anyway. You just wanted to win, like how you always want to."

A relieved smile spread across Jack's face, and he heaved a sigh, his shoulders sagging at the same time.

"Thanks Kim."

When he said that, I couldn't help but blush, my red cheeks noticeably contrasting with the rest of my fair face. Plus, those unwanted, annoying butterflies fluttered back into my tummy. I seriously wanted to kill them.

"Do you mind staying with me till the others get back?" I asked. After hearing those words fly out of my mouth, I mentally felt like kicking myself. All this giddiness and light-headedness was getting the best of me.

"Sure."

Honestly, this Christmas was looking to be a pretty good one.

Wait, did I just think that? _Argh!_

**So how was the chapter? Any areas for improvement? Please review and tell me!**

**I don't have much to say in this Author's Note – just that I'm hoping someone would give the link for 'Badge of Honor' soon. Jack teaches Rudy to skateboard – that should be interesting!**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter – should be up soon! **

**Adios, amigos!**

**~ThoseLovelyMemories**


	3. Kim! I can't believe it's you!

Chapter 3: "Kim! I can't believe it's you!"

**So, interesting chapter title huh? Well, not really. It's a quote from somebody later in the chapter. It's just a little hint, telling you that Kim meets somebody she's seen before. Though if you're smart, and you read the summary, you'll pretty much know who she bumps into.**

**Thanks for the reviews for the previous chapter! They were awesome! I'm really surprised with all the positive comments I'm getting, so YAY!**

**And to **_**Angel-of-Energy**_**: I'm actually not very sure if tobogganing is the same as sledding. I've checked the Internet but no definite answers.**

**Anyone knows if tobogganing is the same as sledding? Please comment if you do. **

**Hope you guys like this chapter! Not my personal best, but I have to upload SOMETHING.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It or the fictional character that's about to appear later in the chapter that is from an old Disney show… (it's not the person I quoted, just to let you know)**

It seemed like eternity before the day of the long-awaited cruise finally arrived. We all met up at the dojo, with all our bags and belongings, all set and pumped up to set off on the high seas.

The boys were busy clowning around as they tried to come up with a ridiculous karate routine while I sat on a bench at the side, my broken ankle propped up against the opposite bench on a cushion. I sighed, staring longingly at the guys as they kicked and punched in terrible synchronization. Stupid ankle.

My phone vibrated and upon seeing who sent me a text message, I rolled my eyes. Mom had been messaging me like, every five minutes ever since I left the house that morning. She just wouldn't put her mind at rest. Every text had been about being careful with my ankle, not to get involved in any relationship with a boy onboard, not to get in trouble on the ship, or even things as ridiculous as remembering to get up no later than nine thirty.

I know she meant well, but I couldn't help but wish she'd leave me alone and let me manage things by myself. I mean, I was fourteen, for crying out loud, not a six-year-old going for her first day of first grade!

This time, the text message read, **'Sweetie, remember to go to bed by 10 p.m. every night. You need all the rest you can get. Love, Mom.' **Hadn't she already told me that?

It was frustrating to have Miranda Crawford as your mother. And not only because she was quite a nag, but also because she had no idea how to use text messaging lingo.

"Another text from your mom?" I looked up to see a smiling Jack.

I rolled my eyes. "What else is new?"

"How's your ankle?" Jack asked.

I shrugged. "It's doing pretty okay. I just need to make sure I am always walking on crutches, and that nothing knocks against it and causes too much impact."

Jack had a troubled look on his face when he said, "Look Kim, I'm still really sorry about your ankle."

I sighed. That's probably the only thing Jack had been saying around me for the past week, and nothing else. I know he was just upset and really sorry for causing my injury, but it was barely his fault, and he needn't keep going on about it.

"I know you are," I said, struggling to hide my frustrated feelings with a grin. "And you don't need to say so anymore."

Jack looked relieved, but I'm pretty sure that in another ten minutes, he was going to apologize again.

"C'mon guys, let's go," Rudy said, finally coming out of his office. Or more like stumbling out of his office, because of the fact that he had a backpack carelessly slung over his shoulder, a duffel bag around the other shoulder, an athletic bag in his left hand, and a huge, bulky luggage in the other. He also had a pouch around his waist.

"Whoa Rudy, we're only gonna be there a week, not a whole month," Jack said, wide-eyed and shocked.

"Well, I originally managed to pack everything into my luggage here," Rudy panted breathlessly. "But then I wondered whether I would have enough clothes if let's say, I was one of the survivors of a sinking ship – guys, remember Titanic? So I decided to pack some emergency stuff in here." He vigorously shook the athletic bag in his left hand. "But what if we got stranded on an island and monkeys stole the clothes in here? Or if I lost these clothes while struggling ashore? So I packed some more things in his duffel bag. And finally, the backpack is where I keep my stash of junk food and juice boxes."

I rolled my eyes. Rudy was one of those people who were always over-prepared.

"Anyway, we better be on the move, guys, or we'll miss the boat," Eddie said, grabbing his luggage.

All the guys immediately scurried towards their baggage, dragging them away from the shrinking cluster of luggage. Soon, all that was left was my metallic lavender blue luggage, standing in loneliness.

I rolled my eyes. Trust the guys to be completely oblivious to the fact that I, Kim Crawford, a _girl_, had a broken ankle and could not drag her own luggage.

I struggled to get off the bench, using my crutches as support, and finally managed to stand up. My eyes trained themselves on my luggage as I hobbled forward.

Suddenly, for some particular reason, I stumbled on something, sending me flailing backwards towards the cold hard floors of the dojo. I braced myself for a sickening _thud_, but the _thud _never came.

Fluttering my eyes open, I saw that I was in the arms of none other than Jack Anderson, who had caught me and prevented my fall. My arms were surging with electricity from his touch.

I was just about to wriggle out of his grip out of embarrassment when I noticed what a deep brown his eyes were. I've always known his eyes were that color – but this was the first time I actually stared _into _them I realized that they were more than just deep brown – they were like orbs of Belgian chocolate. Perfect, addictive, and hypnotizing, they twinkled merrily whenever he smiled or laughed.

"Um… Kim?"

I suddenly realized in horror what I was doing, and quickly pulled away, my body hot with embarrassment. My cheeks were flamingo pink as I wormed out of his grasp and stood up with the support of my crutches.

"Um… sorry," I stuttered. "Thanks for, um, breaking my fall."

Jack, still looking a little weirded out by my strange behavior, said hesitantly, "No… no problem." Snapping out of his thoughts, he rushed forward and grabbed my luggage. "I'll get that for you," he said, dragging it towards the entrance.

I smiled gratefully at him, my body still tingling. "Thanks again."

All the boys were already outside by the time I had hobbled my way to the door. As I stepped out into the fresh, winter air, I couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement. _Starshine _Cruise, here we come!

After suffering from a bumpy, rowdy, extremely long (it took forever to get to the dock, because it was in a different city) and nauseating ride in a cab, we finally arrived at the dock. Desperate the get out of the vehicle, I stumbled out in a rush, glad to finally get a whiff of fresh air.

"Worst… ride… of… my… life," Jack panted, staggering out after me.

"This was like the time Jerry burped after eating pizza in the dojo," the skinny nerd said, picking himself up the ground after Eddie had pushed him out in a frantic hurry. "Except this time, the burp didn't come out the right end."

"Rudy, you honestly should have hired a bigger taxi," Jack complained to our sensei. "Do you know how stuffy and awful-smelling it was in there?"

"Hey, it was either the taxi, or my bike," Rudy protested defensively.

I sighed and turned to face the dock. Families and couples dragging luggage milled around, chattering at the top of their voices as they navigated their way towards the ship.

Only one word could describe the ship: phenomenal. The cruise ship towered over us like a giant, white, well-carved boat statue, and it gleamed under the sun's rays and the cornflower blue sky. Windows ran along the side, and along the bottom of the boat, '_Starshine_'was written in calligraphy.

"Well, let's board the ship! I really want to see what it looks like on the inside," Eddie trilled with excitement. "Plus, I'm hoping there's a free, all-you-can-eat welcome buffet." He rubbed his belly for emphasis before darting off in the direction of the boat.

The mere thought of eating food after that terrible taxi ride caused my stomach juices to start churning.

"So Rudy, what's our rooming system?" Jack questioned, glancing over to the piece of paper Rudy was holding.

"Well, Kim, you have a tiny room to yourself, since you're the only girl," Rudy said, scanning the paper. "Jack, you're with me, and Milton, Eddie, and Jerry are all together."

I was kind of disappointed, yet relieved. Only girl meant one room all to myself – which meant I could do anything I wanted in there. But people do get lonely at times.

Milton and Jerry shared a high-five upon hearing the news and began doing an unsightly dance, while Jack and Rudy laughed at their antics. I couldn't help but giggle along with them, as terrible as their dance was.

The inside of the ship was even more breathtaking than the outside.

When you first enter the ship, you see three floors of plain luxury. The walls were a creamy yellow color, and each floor had a golden railing. Velvet-covered staircases and roomy lifts gave transportations to different floors. Now, on the very first floor, you receive entry to the sky deck, which is spacious and full of people tanning themselves, drinking cocktails, eating high-quality food, or just standing around and talking their heads off to friends. On the first floor, you could also find a huge hot tub, where you find teenagers and adults soaking and lazing around in.

It was amazing. Everything was so luxurious, and everyone there looked so sophisticated.

"This place is awesome, yo!" Jerry gasped. He then pointed at the first level in glee. Peering down, I realized I had failed to notice a table covered in red cloth. Many containers of food were lined up in a pretty fashion on it, and there was a line of people queuing for some food. In other words, it was a buffet table.

"And look! There's Eddie!" Jerry yelled again. Yup, I spotted the stubby African-American stuffing his face into the goodness of some fancy-looking shrimp. Upon spotting us, Eddie waved and began rushing up the steps, clutching onto his plate with greasy fingers. When he was barely halfway up the stairs, he was already huffing in exhaustion, and I had a feeling it took him a good three more minutes to climb up completely.

"Guys, this shrimp is _legendary_," Eddie sighed in content, taking another bite of the sea creature. "It's so delicious. You guys have got to try some later on. And take as much as you like, because the buffet is free!"

I gawked at him. Was Eddie psychic or something?

"Hello, and welcome aboard _Starshine_."

The calm voice freaked me out, and spinning around, I saw an African-American man about my height standing in front of me. Overall, he was smartly-dressed, with a crimson red jacket and striped tie. In his jacket pocket rested a purple, well-folded handkerchief. He had the looks of a sophisticated man – well, until you had a look at his bottom half, where he was wearing white shorts, high knee socks, and black shoes.

"I'm the manager of the ship, Mr. Marian Moseby," he said politely. "Nice to meet you all."

For some strange reason, he seemed oddly familiar. I was racking my brain, trying to think of where I had seen him before, when Jack seemed to have answered my question.

"Hey! You used to be that really short dude who ran the _SS Tipton_! And before that, the Tipton Hotel!" Jack blurted out, snapping his fingers in triumph. He then frowned in disgust at Mr. Moseby's socks. "And dude, put on some pants and lose the knee socks." My memory was jogged – yes, I did stay at the Tipton Hotel when I visited Boston before.

Mr. Moseby pulled a face in mention of his height and fashion sense. "Yes, spot on, young man. I used to work for the _SS Tipton _– but alas, Mr. Tipton sold the ship. Bad timing too – those two hooligan twins were about to graduate, so I would have been able to run the ship in peace afterwards."

We stared at him blankly, so he quickly continued, "Well, anyway, welcome to the ship! You guys must be the Wasabi Warriors, am I not wrong?"

We nodded.

"Good, good. Now, I was instructed by Mr. Wasabi to lead you all to your rooms and give you a tour of the ship," Mr. Moseby continued. "Now, allow me to lead you to your rooms first to put down your baggage. Kimberly… Crawford? Must be you, right?"

I scowled in mention of my full name and grumbled a response. The manager smiled uncertainly and began leading us down the corridor before stopping in front of door marked with the number fourteen.

"This is your room, Miss Crawford," he said, flinging the door open in one graceful gesture. I gaped at the sight before me.

If my room was 'tiny', according to Rudy, then those boys were certainly lucky.

The walls, similar to the outside, was painted creamy yellow, and had a window at the far end looking out to the turquoise sea. A bed with clean, crisp bed sheets was pushed against the wall, and opposite it was a high-tech, flat-screen TV. Not far away, a brown cupboard, a smooth, wooden desk, and a vanity mirror stood patiently, waiting to be used. The floor was carpeted with a blanket of creamy-white fur, which was ticklish, yet extremely comfortable, to the step.

The bathroom was the most luxurious one I've ever seen. It had white, marble tiles on the floor, and the walls were bronze with real shells etched into them. A long mirror stretched the total width of the room, right in front of a long, white sink. Nearby, I had a brightly-lit shower area and an inviting bath tub to soak in.

"This room is amazing!" I trilled in excitement. Not even bothering to kick off my shoes, I rushed up to the bed and flopped down like a starfish. Wow, how totally out of character for me. This room really has its effect on people.

"Whoa Kim, lucky you, you have this entire, awesome room to yourself," Jack said in envy. I laughed and smacked him playfully.

"If I have this, you have twice of this."

Jack's eyes widened at the prospect of having brilliant room, and immediately ushered Mr. Moseby out the door. "Come on, Mr. Moseby, bring Rudy and I to our room, stat."

All the boys, eager to see what luxury room awaited them, rushed out at the same time, causing them all to collide with each other.

Mr. Moseby groaned. "And I thought those hooligan days were over."

I frowned at the manager, trying to resist the temptation to give him a good telling off and to say very firmly that my friends were not what he called 'hooligans'. Childish and juvenile, maybe, but not hooligans.

"Alright, boys, come with me," he said, leading them off down the right corridor.

Jack stopped and peered into my room, where I was still sitting on the bed. "Kim, you coming?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm good. You guys go ahead. I'm gonna unpack. Later, come fetch me for the tour, will you?"

He flashed me a charming smile and nodded, before darting off after the boys.

I sighed and began taking out my clothes, rearranging them nicely in the closet. I was a very organized person, so all my clothes were arranged according to type and color. It took a while, but in the end, I still benefitted because it made choosing clothes a lot easier.

By the time I was done unpacking, the boys still hadn't come back from their rooms, so I was guessing they were fooling around and still gasping in awe over the amazing facilities of their bedrooms. I laughed at the mental image of Eddie wolfing down the complimentary cookies that were left in the suite, Milton trying to predict the sea level through the window, Jerry accidentally flooding the bathroom, Jack busting karate moves all over the place, and Rudy trying to calm everyone down. Those boys and their antics.

Still giggling, I decided to head out and go check out the place myself for a while first before coming back to my room. As I stepped out the door and locked it, I heard a buzz coming from my pocket.

The message from my mother read, '**Are you on the ship yet? How's the place? Love, Mom.**'

At least it wasn't another message about sleeping by 10.

I smiled and started typing my reply when I suddenly collided into something, or someone, because after the collision, I heard a very loud "Ouch!" get yelped into my ear.

"I'm so sorry!" I quickly apologized, putting my phone away and looking up.

But the person I saw was not a total stranger, and it wasn't somebody I ever wanted to see again.

"Ricky?" I gasped in shock, looking up at the brown-eyed, doll-haired, jerk-faced mega pop star. He was still rubbing his arm in pain when he looked up. The pained expression on his face was replaced with a face of utter disbelief and surprise.

"Kim?" Ricky Weaver's jaw dropped for a moment, and it slowly curved into a smile. "Kim! I can't believe it's you! What a coincidence, huh, that we're both on _Starshine _now?"

Wait, he was actually _happy _to see me again?

"Why are you happy?" I demanded rudely, my eyes flashing with hatred. "Happy because I can now toss you onto the buffet table downstairs, like how I did with the bowl of guacamole? I _hate _you. You're an absolute jerk, Doll Hair. I'm leaving now, and I hope we never lock eyes again." Whipping around, I began to stomp off.

But I was stopped by a certain 'dreamy' pop star.

"Kim, please forgive me," Ricky pleaded. "I know I was a jerk to you, and I treated you and played you just like all the other girls, but I regret it because you're different from all the typical fan girls I have. Hurting you was stupid of me, really. And I was hoping you'd give me another chance."

His words made absolutely no sense to the extent that I had to stifle a laugh. I put on a cold, harsh little face and glared at him with piercing eyes.

"Give you another chance?" I spat. "Please, Ricky, that is not going to happen. In fact, I don't even think you're sincere. You're just trying to play me again. In fact, your entire speech is probably copied right off a paragraph from some cliché romance book."

"Kim, I'm not joking," Ricky said. I was surprised to see genuine sincerity in his hazel eyes. "I'm really serious about this – I was stupid to hurt you and I honestly regret it. Please give me another chance."

Now, it was either Ricky was as great an actor as he was a singer, or he was truly sincere and honest about wanting another chance. And even though a typical Kim Crawford would go with the first option, she decided to trust the latter.

"Look Ricky," I sighed, my expression softening slightly. "I just… after what you did, I don't know if I can give you another chance."

Ricky's face fell. "But Kim…"

"Sorry."

"Kim, please…"

"Stop pleading, or I'll flip you!" I snapped, losing my temper.

"Hey Kim, we're back…" I spun around to see the guys rushing towards me. Jack was right in the front, and he was also the one who had called out. But he trailed off when he saw who I was talking to.

"You!" he spluttered. "What… what are you doing here? And what were you talking about? Why were you talking to him?"

"Relax Jack. Ricky's just here by coincidence," I explained, shooting the pop star a glare. "And he wasn't talking, he was pleading. And I wasn't talking, I was snapping."

Jack seemed to relax a bit, but he still looked pretty pissed by the fact that Ricky was here on the ship.

"Stay away from Kim, Ricky, and quit bothering her," Jack warned. "Or you'll get it from me – I mean, the Wasabi Warriors."

"Yeah!" the guys chorused threateningly, edging forward.

Ricky sighed. "See you around, Kim," he said dejectedly, quickly sprinting down the stairs two at a time to escape the fierce and angry mob of Bobby Wasabi students.

"Well, he's out of your hair, thanks to us," Jack said proudly, straightening his shirt. "Now come on Kim, time for the tour. We're meeting Mr. Moseby at the receptionist. He had some quick business to attend to before this." And placing a hand on my back – which sent tingles up my spine – he led me to the receptionist.

I laughed and smiled as I walked down with the boys, but they were all forced. Because the whole time, I was thinking about Ricky's dejected expression.

**So, turns out to be RICKY WEAVER! How many of you guessed it? I'm guessing a lot of you though. :P And the character I mentioned in the disclaimer is MR. MOSEBY. Haha, bet you didn't see that coming. He won't be playing a major role in this – he'll just be your fussy ship manager.**

**I'm not too good at describing cruise ships – in fact, I don't think I've ever been on one! (except when I was, like, five, but it's really blurry in my mind right now) So sorry for the terrible description of the ship's inside. :(**

**I watched 'Badge of Honor' yesterday! Yup, somebody finally posted the link! It's pretty, actually, how Rudy's at the skate park and everything – though the part where he was 'flying through the air' and doing that 'sick move' was pretty fake, and it's obvious it was shot in front of a green screen. I also think Milton was really going overboard with the whole cop thing. It actually reminds me of the Suite Life on Deck episode, 'In the Line of Duty', from Season 2, where Zack goes overboard being the hallway monitor.**

**Oh well, I'm done babbling! Hope you like the chapter, even though I personally dislike it, and thanks for reading!**

**CIAO!**

**~Kelsey**


	4. Greene With Envy

Chapter 4: Greene With Envy

**ARGH! I'm so mad in myself. I haven't updated in more than a WEEK.**

**That is beyond terrible.**

**Truth is, I had HUGE writer's block for this chapter. I wrote the first two paragraphs, and after that, my fingers just froze on the keyboard. (not literally, but you get what I mean) I had no idea what to type AT ALL. I mean, I knew what the plotline was, but I had no idea how to put it into words and turn it into a wonderful story to publish on . **

**So I completely abandoned this chapter for like, 6 days, before finally returning to it, then I took two days to finish it all up.**

**So that's 8 days of no update for you.**

**I'm so sorry you guys. I've been so terrible. Especially after you guys have given me 42 reviews in total! (which is like, an average of 14 reviews per chapter, which is LOADS.)**

**Okay, enough with me going on and on about how sorry I am and blah blah blah. You're probably getting bored.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I do not own Kickin' It or Mr. Moseby, the guy from Suite Life on Deck who's obsessed with pocket hankies.**

**PS: Nope, there's no typo in the chapter title. It truly is 'Greene With Envy'.**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

I cannot believe I met Ricky Weaver onboard. What I find even harder to believe is that I, Kim Crawford, actually _meant _something to that jerk. And while any ordinary fan girl would forgive him, my 'I-Love-Ricky-Weaver-No-Matter-What-Stupid-Thing-He-Does' days are over.

The boat was amazing. It had so many incredible fine dining restaurants, with a variety of cuisines – Italian, French, and Japanese – and each of them were run by highly-trained chefs. There was also an amazing gym, with state-of-the-art equipment. And don't get me started with the hot tub – I went for a quick dip (without the boys) and it was so relaxing to just soak in there.

"Okay guys, time for you all to go sign up for your activities onboard," Mr. Moseby said, leading us back to the receptionist. He sat in front of the computer, clicking about before finally looking up.

I gawked in horror. "Wait… what activities?"

Mr. Moseby looked puzzled by the fact that I had no idea that we could participate in lessons on the ship. "It's pretty optional… Basically, you sign up for one or two lessons to take part in. We have tons of stuff – there's arts and crafts, cross-stitching, dancing, and so on, so forth. I have the whole list right here." He then shoved a clipboard onto the desk.

I peered over to take a look. Arts and crafts, cross-stitching, dancing, baking, art, a bunch of sports (like golfing, martial arts included), etcetera, etcetera.

I did not exactly want to participate in any of the activities.

Expressing my thoughts in words, Jack grabbed hold of my shoulders and shook them vigorously, sending a rush of warmth down my arms.

_You do not like Jack, you do not like Jack._

_Right?_

"Come on Kim, it'll be fun!" Jack pleaded. "Plus, we could take part in the same things. How does baking sound?"

Very honestly, baking sounded pretty okay. For one thing, messing around with ingredients in the kitchen can get quite fun, and secondly, I so needed baking classes to boost my grade in Home Economics up.

I could not experience getting a B again.

"Okay," I reluctantly consented. For some reason, Jack just made things more worth doing.

But I'm not saying that because I like him or anything.

Just being objective.

_Right?_

Stupid thoughts.

"So I'll sign you two up for baking classes?" Mr. Moseby questioned, directing his gaze at the brunette and I.

"Me too," Milton piped up, waving his gangly arms into the air for attention, causing the ship's manager to send him an uncertain glance.

As Mr. Moseby put our names onto the list, Eddie waggled his eyebrows at me teasingly. "I bet you only agreed because your dear little _Jackie _was participating in baking."

I tried to hide the flaming red color on my cheeks by grabbing hold of the boy's arms and flipping him onto the ground. Stamping my foot down on his chest, I said with gritted teeth, "I do not like Jack. Got that, _Edward_?"

Eddie forced my foot off in mention of his real name and scowled, scrambling up from his position on the ground. "Yeah, yeah, you're just in denial. But I'll stop bugging you two lovebirds."

I flushed again, and felt even more embarrassed to see Jack's face turn a delicate shade of pink out of the corner of my eye.

Did he like me?

I'm gonna quit questioning it, because it's just cluttering my brain up with irrational, stupid, tangled thoughts.

Jerry, of course, signed up for dancing, and Eddie chose karate, since he wanted to build up a good foundation for the next time we went to the dojo. Rudy seemed kind of upset that Eddie was attending somebody else's karate lesson, and insisted that he was 'betraying' him and being 'disloyal', and another whole load of 'blah' stuff.

As for Rudy, since Eddie was going for karate, he decided to sign up too, so he had a reason to enter the class and show everyone else what good martial arts material he was made of.

I wonder if that was actually allowed, but I ignored the matter anyway.

"Oh, one final matter," Mr. Moseby said before we left. "We're having a talent show on the night of Christmas Eve, here on the ship. You can do practically anything – just nothing illegal or dangerous…" At this, he trailed off and eyed us warily. "Things like singing, dancing, magic tricks, and ventriloquist acts are all allowed, and if you can think of more, fine by me. So if you're willing to sign up, you have to do it by the end of today."

I rolled my eyes. Talent shows – so not my thing.

"Pardon me, I forgot to mention – the prize is $1000."

My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. A thousand dollars? Are you kidding me? That was huge – real huge. A thousand dollars could get me a smartphone, which I've been begging for since last year but never got a chance to buy.

I _had _to win the competition.

Okay, I suppose you think it's kind of weird, how I was like, "I hate talent shows", and the next second I'm practically screaming in my mind that I just _have _to participate and win it. But that's Kim Crawford for you. One very major detail could change my mind about the entire situation.

Now the question was – what would I do for the show?

Dancing, magic tricks, and ventriloquist acts were out of the question. I couldn't do a short comedy skit – I wasn't all too funny. Maybe a karate routine? Yeah, that may work.

Oh wait, I had that darned, broken ankle.

Or I could sing.

Singing has always been sort of like, my secret passion ever since I was a little girl. I would take a look at a singer performing on TV and I'll ask my mother, "Mommy, can I be like her someday?"

And obviously, Mom said no, saying that I had very little chances of making it and being successful.

But that didn't stop me. Whenever my parents weren't in the house, I'll just sing alone in my bedroom, sometimes belting out a full rendition of the song, or just humming a small snippet of it. Whatever it was, karate and journalism weren't the only things I enjoyed doing.

So should I sing in the talent show?

Would it alright to admit to the guys that I enjoyed singing, and that I wasn't that totally tough Kim Crawford I proved and looked to be?

I guess so.

"Oh man, that's total swag!" Jerry trilled. "I'm totally gonna put together a dance crew and own it!" He glanced at us all excitedly. "You guys wanna join? We could do the same routine we did for the dance contest. You know, the one where I won Best Individual Dancer." He smugly busted new and improved 'The Jerry' right there in the lobby, and we all cheered. And even though Mr. Moseby looked alarmed, I could tell he was inwardly pretty impressed.

"No thanks Jerry," I answered with a smile. "Besides…" I gestured wildly towards my ankle, and Jerry grinned sheepishly. "Plus, I think I'm gonna do something else."

The guys, intrigued, stopped their fooling around to listen to what I was going to say.

"I'm gonna sing."

The look on their faces was exactly what I expected. Their jaws just dropped to the ground, and their eyes grew larger and larger as they pondered over the three shocking words they had just heard.

_I'm gonna sing._

"Kim, you like to sing? How come you never told me?" Jack asked. I couldn't tell the tone in his voice – he sounded rather hurt and disappointed, doubtful, and surprised, all at the same time.

I shrugged. "Yeah. I never really tell anyone. First, my parents seriously don't support it – but then again, they don't support anything I do, and second, it's something you don't really find me doing."

Jack finally managed to flash me a dazzling smile. "It's nice to know there's a secret side to the Oh-So-Tough Kim Crawford."

Playfully, I smacked him on the shoulder.

"Furthermore, singing's cool," Jack continued with a shrug. "You know, maybe we could, say, join forces and do an act together."

I could feel my face color at the prospect of Jack wanting to participate in the talent competition with me, but I quickly brushed the thought away and asked, "Oh really? What can you do to accompany my singing?"

"Well, I do jam pretty well on the guitar," Jack said, straightening his shirt smugly. "I could play while you sing. And if you want, we could do a duet."

I snickered. "You can sing, Jack?"

Seriously, I doubted it.

But I was proved wrong when the martial arts expert spontaneously belted out a pitch-perfect chorus of 'If I Ruled the World' by Big Time Rush.

Okay, how unexpected.

But Jack was an awesome singer, so there would be no harm done if we did a duet together. Furthermore, we'll also have a blast of a time working together to put up an _amazing_ act, worthy of the first place trophy.

"Okay Jack, we're partners," I said with a grin, taking his hand in mine and shaking it firmly. I tried to ignore the tingles traveling up my arm as our hands came into the contact, or the butterflies erupting in my stomach when he flashed me one of his blinding smiles.

Because, they don't mean anything, duh!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"We have five days to get together a great – no, _phenomenal _singing act for the talent show. What do you propose we sing?" I asked as Jack and I walked back to my room. "Perhaps a Christmas song? How about 'All I Want For Christmas'? Or 'Mistletoe' – and not the Justin Bieber one, the Colbie Caillat one? Oh I know – 'It's Not Christmas Without You' by Victoria Justice!" I rattled off practically every Christmas song that popped into my head.

Jack shrugged. "Those songs are pretty okay, but –"

"_Okay_?" I literally screamed into his ear. "Those songs are not just _okay_! They're awesome!" I stopped my crazy rant and calmed down, crossing my arms across my chest. "Then what do you propose we sing?"

Jack shrugged again, and I threw my hands up in the air in frustration, stalking off.

"Kim…" Jack rushed up and grabbed my arm. "Why are you so worked up over this talent contest anyway? We're doing it for fun, aren't we?"

I sighed. "I know, I know, I'm being overdramatic about this whole situation. Just that… imagine what I could do with $500! I can finally get a smartphone! Plus, you know how I like to put my best into everything and win. When the competition gets tough, I tend to get a little crazy."

"That's fine and all, but don't go OTT, okay?" Jack asked, staring at me with his deep, chocolate-brown eyes. I got lost in the chocolate-y goodness was I staring into, and my heart melted.

"Yeah, okay," I absent-mindedly, very dreamily agreed.

Jack looked rather taken aback by my tone of voice, but decided not to pry. "Good," he said. "Now let's get going."

As he walked off, I stayed still and mentally felt like kicking myself in the shin. I acted like an idiot, all crazy and dreamy and falling over him – which I was not! As such a tough tomboy, I, Kim Crawford, should at least have some control and not go drowning in Jack's hypnotizing eyes.

Giving myself a slap on the shoulder, I blinked hard before finally moving on. Looking up, I saw Jack talking to someone.

More specifically, a girl.

Wait, not specific enough. A _gorgeous _girl.

The teen looked about our age and was just an inch shorter than Jack. She had an elegant posture, and if not for her height, I'd call her a model. Dark, curly locks of hair tumbled down her shoulders like a waterfall, and her eyes twinkled like an emerald ring. They were just so lively and vivacious, and the excitement that glistened around in it looked contagious. Donned in a denim jacket, white top, skinny jeans, and black boots, she was probably the prettiest girl I'd ever seen.

Looking at Jack talking to such a pretty girl, I couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. And um, _obviously _not because I thought he was gonna date her or anything, but more because it looked like they were going to turn out to be great friends and hang out together a lot so I wouldn't have enough time with my best _friend._

_Right?_

Deciding to intrude on their amiable conversation, I rushed forward and gently tapped Jack on the shoulder. With both pairs of eyes on me, I tried to act casual and said, "Jack, who's your friend?"

"Oh, we've just met, but Kim, this is Stella, Stella, this is Kim," Jack said quickly, introducing me to his newest acquaintance.

"Stella Greene, if you want to be technical," Stella said cheerfully, shaking my hand as she let out a tinkling laugh.

"Kim Crawford, if _you _want to be technical."

Just wanted to get friendly.

"I met Jack after carelessly bumping into him," Stella continued, flipping her hair as she giggled. "I should seriously watch where I'm going next time, but on the bright side, I've made _two _new friends!"

_Friends. Friends. Friends. Jack was just her friend._

Were these _really _the thoughts that I was thinking? They sounded so lovesick and romantic and cheesy.

Furthermore, I did not like Jack.

"It's cool, Stella, really," Jack said, slipping his hands into his pockets in his usual, casual, easy-going manner.

Stella flashed us both a dazzling smile, and while Jack smiled back, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the sticky-sweet aura this girl was giving out.

"You guys wanna go like, hang out at the buffet and get to know each other?" Stella asked casually, pointing to the floor below us. "I hear their shrimp is legendary."

"Cool!" Jack immediately jumped at the chance to get to know the flawlessly-perfect (in terms of appearance) Stella Greene. "I heard about the buffet and I was meaning to check it out. Wanna come along Kim?"

So Jack didn't want to come work on our act for the talent show anymore? Well, that certainly upset, disappointed, and enraged me.

"No thanks," I said, faking what I hoped was a convincing smile. "I'm just gonna go look through a list of Christmas songs for the talent show."

I knew Jack could see right through me, and tell that I was being totally insincere and everything, and that I was really upset with him for following his new acquaintance.

Smart boy, if he could tell.

"Um, bye Kim," Jack said awkwardly, giving me a small wave before heading off, chatting animatedly with Stella. I just continued to stand there, staring after them, secretly hoping that nothing was ever going to go on between them.

Did I just admit that?

Jack looked back once, but I turned around and walked away and acted like I didn't care.

I was "Greene" with envy.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

**Okay… so did you like the chapter? I'm surprised that it turned out pretty okay, even though it was kinda short. Only thing I dislike is that I unintentionally injected too much Kick in it… but I didn't go and delete some parts, since I was DESPERATE to get this up to you.**

**Maybe some of you are mad about the OC Stella Greene, but before you make you go on about how you hate it in the comments, I'm just gonna say that she's put into my story as a tool to get Kim to admit her feelings for Jack. Plus, nothing too serious between her and Jack. You'll see that in the next chapter.**

**If you still haven't changed your mind, then it's your loss. I'm not gonna jump straight into all the Jack/Kim-ness.**

**Oh yeah, maybe Kim was a little OOC about the whole 'talent-show-decision-making' thing… but well, this place isn't called FanFiction for nothing.**

**Anyone saw the new show, Austin and Ally? I think it'll turn out pretty cool – plus Austin and Ally look cute together. The first episode was HILARIOUS, by the way.**

**Does ANYONE have ANY clue to what the next episode of Kickin' It is? I'm dying just trying to find out. Most say it's Breaking Bad, but it's more of a rumor, so I'm choosing not to believe it until it's like, up on Wiki or Wikipedia or something like that.**

**Oh yeah, planning on writing a Kickin' It songfic for Jack and Kim. Got any song ideas? (nothing about heartbreak or them being all romantic and girlfriend-and-boyfriend stuff, please)**

**WHOA! Long Author's Note there!**

**Review like mad, and pray like crazy that I have no writer's block for the next chapter!**

**~Kels :)**

**PS: This is like, really random (okay, not totally, but sort of), but anyone noticed how Jack and Kim's pairing name is KICK and the show they're on is KICKin' It? Just saying…**


	5. Confusion and Its Consequences

Chapter 5: Confusion and Its Consequences

**GAHH!**

**I haven't updated in like, three weeks! I must have killed you guys waiting and I'm SO sorry.**

**But I have a reason. I typed out this chapter and everything after coming back from my holiday at Palm Springs (super fun, BTW) and when I wanted to post it, the Internet crashed!**

**Yup, I had lost connection. Which stunk. But for some strange reason it only affected my family computer, and I could still use the Internet on my iPod. That's why I could still PM and review and all that.**

**SORRY GUYS! **

**On a different note…**

**MERRY (late) CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! Best wishes for 2012 y'all!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It or Last Christmas. Kickin' It belongs to Disney XD, and Last Christmas belongs to Wham!**

**/|\\\\**

Luckily, Stella Greene has not made too big an impact on my vacation. Even though I'm getting less time to spend with Jack, and that she's constantly saddling me with questions on him which annoy the hell out of me, I'll just say that I'm still having a pretty good time on the ship.

For one thing, Jack seems to be finally taking this extremely important talent show seriously, and is meeting up with me in my room to discuss which song to sing.

I sighed as I sat on my bed and fished out my laptop, turning it on and going to the Google homepage. Using the search engine and YouTube, I included a few additional possibilities onto the list of songs I had written out.

It was nearly half an hour of searching when I finally tugged my gaze away from the laptop screen and checked my watch. 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Jack was supposed to be here by 1.45 – wonder where he went prancing off to.

_He's probably with Stella. _That was the first thought that echoed through my brain, and it was accompanied by a strange feeling of jealousy.

I sighed. Obviously, as usual, Jack was late.

Finally, the long-awaited rap on the door sounded, and pushing my laptop off my lap, I headed over and peeked through the peephole.

My shoulders slumped noticeably when I realized it wasn't Jack.

It was Ricky James Weaver (I reprimand myself severely for still remembering his middle name), whose mission was to add on to my misery.

How perfect.

I rolled my eyes and strolled off, back onto my bed, and went back to my laptop. Soon, a similar _rat-a-tat-tat _sounded again, and groaning, I yelled in annoyance, "Ricky, go away!"

"But Kim, I really need to –"

"I told you to _go away_!" I shouted once more, my patience probably as thin as a single, frayed string. "Or I'll throw you onto the buffet table!"

"I don't care if you throw me into that huge bowl of gravy, or knock me on the head with a hammer – I _really _need to talk to you, Kim!" came his reply.

I smirked. Oh, how I'd _love_ to knock him on his dolled-up head with a hammer. That would make my day.

But I didn't express my thoughts. Instead, I repeated the exact same phrase, just with more fury, "_I told you to go away_!"

"Please, just let me in and let me make my point. Please listen, Kim."

Was Ricky Weaver, international mega pop star, with millions and millions of screaming, crazed fan girls, really begging _me_, to let him into _my _room?

No way.

Then again, I figured letting him talk was the only way of driving him away. He was honestly beginning to get annoying, and with the patience of a peanut, I was on the verge to burst out the door and go kicking his butt any minute. Plus, if it was another desperate plea to have me give him another chance, I could just blow him off again.

And as cruel and vile and heartless as I sounded, Ricky totally deserved it.

"You don't _deserve_ to come into my room, especially after the way you've treated me," I declared firmly, almost snootily. If I was with Ricky, I must as well behave _slightly _out of character, shouldn't I? Then, with a softer tone of voice, I continued, "But you may talk. I'm listening."

As I said those words, I could almost see Ricky's shoulders sagging in relief.

"Look… Look, Kim, I just want to tell you that I'm truly, truly, genuinely, one hundred and one percent sorry for playing you like any other girl," Ricky said, obvious emotions embedded in his voice. "I was stupid, and a fool, and I shouldn't have done it. Not to you, and not to any other girl as well. Of course, I don't have enough time to go all around, looking for them again and apologize to them – plus, I couldn't be bothered, because they didn't _mean_ anything to me. But you – you're worth going after, and when I found you on this ship, I was ecstatic. It was my chance to make amends."

There was a short pause before he continued, "And I know you're probably not going to accept my apology, moreover actually going to date me or anything – I'm pretty sure Jack has already reserved the love seat in your heart."

His comment made me flush a bright red.

"But I hope you can at least forgive me, and perhaps we could be friends."

There was something about Ricky's words that sounded different, not like the fake ones I'd heard earlier the year, claiming he'd loved my essay, and how I had to wear something cute when dancing with him. They sounded almost… _true. Real. Genuine._ And I was almost tempted to forgive him and let us just be friends.

_Kim, you're starting to go soft. Stay focused on the real issue here. This idiot is a player, and he hurt your feelings after you were such an ecstatic fan of his, even with a love shrine of him in your locker! _

But a little part of my brain persuaded me to forgive him.

"That sounds relatively sincere," I said, clearing my throat after a long moment's pause of thinking. "And I forgive you Ricky. But I don't want to be your friend, or associate with you, or anything like that. I'm just going to accept your apology, and clear you of your conscience."

Ricky sounded relieved, yet slightly disappointed all the same. "Thanks, Kim."

And suddenly, I heard a familiar voice, a voice I had been waiting to hear for about twenty-five minutes now.

"Ricky! What are you doing here?" Jack's voice was so loud, it penetrated clearly through the door and echoed around my room. "Don't bother Kim, and go away!"

Soon, the door of my room had burst open, and Jack had come marching in, tugging Ricky's sleeve with him.

"Kim, was this dude trying to get you to forgive him again?" he demanded, his eyes blazing with rage.

I was rather taken aback by how worked up Jack had gotten all because Ricky had been bothering me. It was sweet and all, but he was just being way too protective. Even though I was a female, and I was supposed to be _weaker _than him (PFFT!), I could still kick a fair amount of butt and was as tough as any male around here.

"Yes, Jack," I said with a roll of my eyes. "And he succeeded. But he agreed not to bother me again. So you can let go of Doll Hair's shirt now."

Jack's chocolate eyes widened in surprise, and his grip on Ricky's sleeve only grew tighter. "Y-You _forgave_ the dude? Are you mad, Kim?"

I sighed. "Jack, just relax. Let him go and we can start our session. I've waited twenty-five minutes for you."

Jack still looked shocked at my unexpected act, as his lips were moving up and down but no words were coming out. Eventually, he managed to nod and let go of Ricky, who hastily stumbled out the door in a rush to get away from the butt-kicking brunette.

Jack slammed the door shut the minute Ricky was gone, then stomped over to my bed in a flying rage.

"Kim! You're mad! Crazy! How could you forgive him? Do you know what's gonna happen now?"

I shrugged, causing Jack to wring his hands up into the air in frustration and exclaim, "Gosh Kim! If you've forgiven him, it means he now thinks he has every right and reason to _bother _you!"

I sighed and got off the bed, facing Jack in the eye. "Look Jack, I appreciate you being protective of me and everything, but sometimes, you go a bit overboard. I can take care of myself. Besides, I only forgave him to get him off my back. He sounded sincere enough anyway."

I could tell Jack was still struggling to speak, but he eventually gave up and sank down onto my bed in defeat. I had just won the debate.

"And now I have a question to ask you," I said, stepping up to him again. "Why are you twenty-five minutes late for our practice session? What on earth could make you nearly half an hour late for something so important?"

Jack sighed. "I was hanging out with Jerry and Eddie. Then Milton came along, trying to show us the effects of Substance Blah on Substance Blah-Blah. Then he mixed it both together, the whole thing exploded, and that uptight Mr. Moseby forced us to clear it all up."

Inwardly, I heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn't with Stella.

Externally, my relieved sigh was replaced with a groan of irritation. "Well, you _could_ have texted me!"

"Sorry."

"Never mind, let's just get started." Grabbing my laptop and list of songs, I settled myself down next to Jack. The brunette scooted over slightly so he could see the screen better, and he was so close I could feel his hot breath against my cheeks. I tried to ignore the tingling sensation traveling up my spine as I focused on the list.

"Okay, so I compiled a list of songs to sing. There aren't many duets, but I guess we could always rearrange it," I said, handing the paper over to him.

Jack frowned as he scanned the list. Finally, he put it down and looked up at me, nearly disgusted.

"Come on Kim, we can't sing any of these! They're just not… personal enough."

I rolled my eyes. I had spent hours collecting songs on the Internet, and then he pushes them all away because they're not 'personal enough'.

"Define 'personal'," I told him.

"We must sing songs that come from our hearts," Jack said, with an obvious 'duh' tone in his voice. "I mean, we can't sing when it's completely lacking emotion! It's just like on American Idol and X Factor! You must inject emotion into the song, or the judges don't likey!"

I sighed in frustration. "But I couldn't _find_ any Christmas songs –" I abruptly cut myself off when I noticed a particular song on the web page I was on. It featured a whole list of Christmas songs, and the one that caught my eye was entitled "Last Christmas", with the original version recorded by a band named Wham!

I'd heard "Last Christmas" before. It was about a man (or girl) who loved somebody, but that somebody broke up with him (or her) on Christmas Day. So the man (or girl) was basically singing about how he (or she) would not make the same mistake again and pick someone truly special to date.

It was just like me and Ricky. And while I didn't have a mystery man that was supposed to be my special someone yet, the concept sort of applied to me anyway.

Jabbing my finger onto the screen, and leaving a faint fingerprint on it, I cried out triumphantly, "That's it!"

Jack peered down to see what I was pointing at, and soon his face lit up like a Christmas tree, a smile breaking out. "Perfect! It's just like you and Ricky!"

"This could work!" I squealed in delight, clapping my hands like a thrilled five-year-old. "This could totally work!"

Jack laughed along, when his dark eyes caught my hazel ones. My squeals died off, and were replaced by a huge smile. Soon, I was drowning in chocolate, completely mesmerized.

"So, who's the special someone you're gonna give your heart to this Christmas?" Jack murmured, still holding my gaze.

I could feel my body heating up, and I shrugged, a playful smile dancing across my lips.

Soon, I found myself leaning in.

_No, this cannot be. Jack and I are friends. We don't like each other. Jack likes Stella. I still have to wait for a mystery man. This is not happening. _

_I cannot kiss Jack._

But my body ignored my mind, and kept leaning in anyway. My body was tingling with anticipation as my eyelids fluttered close.

_Closer…_

_Closer…_

_Rat-a-tat-tat!_

I abruptly pulled away at the sound of the knock, snapping out of my trance. My mind was numb with shock as I tried to clear all my thoughts. Was I just about to kiss Jack?

That was completely preposterous! Jack and I were friends. There were no romantic feelings between us. We were two friends with one hundred percent platonic feelings about each other.

Jack didn't pull away – he was still at the same spot, his face heating up under the thought of nearly kissing me. I saw disappointment flicker across his brown eyes, but they only stayed there for a millisecond because he had saved me the trouble of walking and went to get the door.

When he opened it, it was none other than Stella Greene.

Oh great, _just _the girl I wanted to see at a time like this.

"Hey Jack, I heard from Jerry you were here," she said, flashing him a dazzling grin. She then peered over Jack's shoulder and shot me an equally sparkly smile. "And hello Kim! Nearly didn't see you there! This is your room, isn't it?"

I forced a smile. "Yup."

Stella then turned back to Jack, a strange expression on her face. Anxiety and uncertainty was reflected in her emerald green eyes, as if she was holding back something she desperately wanted to say. However, it didn't stop her from flashing Jack a nearly flirtatious smile and twirling a dark curl with her index finger.

"Hey Jack, I have something to ask you," she said, after a moment's pause.

I tried to prevent myself from gawking. Oh no, she wasn't. No way. She couldn't _possibly_ be.

"I was wondering if you wanna hang out tonight? Maybe have dinner together at that Italian restaurant?"

Oh no she didn't. Stella Greene _did not_ just ask Jack Anderson out.

_Why do you care anyway, Kim?_ I mentally reprimanded myself.

A huge grin broke out on Jack's face. "Sure," he said casually, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. "Sounds cool. Pick you up at eight?"

Oh no he didn't. Jack Anderson _did not_ just agree to go out with Stella Greene.

I tried fighting back the tears in my hazel eyes as I struggled to control my emotions. The situation was completely unjustified. I'd known Jack for nearly a year, and we were best friends, and we… we nearly kissed… and our feelings about each other…

And then Stella Greene struts her way into our lives, charms her way into Jack's heart, and asks him out after knowing him for a day.

And the idiot agreed.

_The idiot agreed._

That was when I broke. That was when I threw the laptop off my lap, and not even bothering to get my crutches, began to half-limp half-run towards the door. Trying to control the tears welling up in my eyes, I pushed my way through the two lovebirds and hobbled out the door and down the corridor, my heart pounding with madness as the water in my eyes finally broke free and streaked down my cheeks.

I could hear Jack crying out my name, and the loud sound of footsteps as he raced after me; I could somewhat visual Stella in my mind, looking half-concerned and half-smug and triumphant; but I kept walking anyway, determined to get as far away from my room as possible.

But of course, a girl with a broken ankle without her crutches by her side could not win a game of catch with a martial arts expert with two perfectly healthy legs.

Jack grabbed my right shoulder when he finally caught up with me, swinging me around. His eyes were filled with concern and worry, and his whole face was clouded with confusion.

"Kim! Why did you run out there?" he demanded, breathless, but yet confused.

And after all that, the idiot still didn't get it.

_The idiot still didn't get it._

I roughly wiped a tear trickling down my cheeks as I faced him, blinking back the water in my eyes as I attempted to pull myself together. Tell him off. Be Kimberly Crawford, not Miss Drama.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, my voice croaky when it came out. Shaking my head, I proceeded, unleashing my Southern accent as I grew more agitated. "It's you and Stella! She just marches into our lives, asks you out on a stupid date and you mindlessly agree without taking into account what happened just seconds before!"

I cleared my throat, getting rid of the hoarse effect on my speech.

"Kim, are you _jealous_? It's just one date!" Jack exclaimed in shock.

"_I'm not jealous!" _That was the exact words I just wanted to scream in Jack's face, right at the moment. But those words didn't spill out – nothing did. I remained silent.

"You are, aren't you?" Jack asked, realization dawning.

I sniffed and slapped his arm, causing him to flinch. "_I'm not jealous, Jack!_"

"Then why did you run out back there?" Jack demanded. "Why did you Kim? This is totally unlike you!"

"I know that!" I snapped. "I'm just… I'm just… I'm just _confused_!" I finally blurted out. "I'm _confused_, Jack! Do you like me or not? All those hints the past year… defending me from Ricky Weaver, spending loads of time together, all those stupid accusations from the other guys… and… and we nearly kissed! For God's sake, we nearly kissed, just like, two minutes ago, and you forget all about it when Stella Greene barges into my room!"

Jack seemed to be at a loss for words, as he struggled to find something to say.

"Don't answer my question then," I snapped again, my voice growing spiteful. "Just forget it." And with that, I half-hobbled half-marched off, leaving a stunned Jack behind.

As I walked away, I just wanted to break down in tears. All my feelings had just flooded out back there, and now, things were gonna be awkward with Jack. Things were never gonna be the same. I'd just burst out in front of him, making it seem as if I did like him!

But the whole question was, did I _actually_ like Jack? Because back there, it seemed a lot like I did.

I drew a sharp breath when I turned around and yelled, "And by the way, forget about the talent show!" Then I spun around again and headed for the elevator, my breaths ragged and agitated.

Confusion and its consequences.

**/\/\/\**

**THAT'S A WRAP! Okay… so, Jack and Kim have sort of fallen out and all that, all because Jack was sort of being a player with Stella Greene, and Kim's still not sure if she likes Jack, even though it's like, so plain obvious that she does…**

**Well, I myself am not sure how long they're gonna be fighting. I mean, I initially planned for them to have Stella to kind of bring them together again, since she felt bad for starting it all in the first place… but I think I've changed my mind about that…**

**ARGH! I'M FICKLE!**

**Oh yeah, hope Kim wasn't too OOC, but I figured that sometime soon she should kind of break down and indirectly confess her feelings to Jack. It just sounded right. Right?**

**Okay, never mind that. I just saw on Wikipedia and I'm hoping like mad that it's a rumor, but here goes: The next Kickin' It episodes premieres Feb 4. **

**WHAT?**

**Pray it's not true people, pray it's not true. In the meantime, have a AWESOME New Year! :D**

**Cheers,**

**Kelsey**


	6. Comfort

Chapter 6: Comfort

**Hey FF peeps! Hope you guys all enjoy this chapter! Sorry for not updating sooner, school. :( Just one issue to address beforehand:**

**So, I'm totally thrilled that you guys all enjoyed Chapter 5, and I hope you all love Chapter 6 just as much. Loads of you favorited and subscribed, but didn't review – and I'm hoping you would, as your feedback helps me create a better story for you all. So please help out! Thanks. :D**

**And several shout-outs! Okay… Thank you SO MUCH to **_**TheWritingsOfTaylor30**_**, who is an awesome friend of mine on . We often PM each other, and she was so nice as to dedicate a chapter of her HOA fanfic, 'Safe and Sound?' on my birthday (which was January 6, by the way). We're also planning a collab together! It'll be a while before it's up, because we haven't began writing… but just a notice!**

**Another shout-out to **_**TheWritingGames**_**, who reviews for every chapter and is my huge inspiration on this site! And lastly, **_**FreakierThanFreaks**_**, who happened to have just discovered my story (or I think so) after I posted the 5th chapter, and reviewed for each and every one of them all in one shot! Thanks to all you guys! xDxDxD**

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Kickin' It.**

As I tore into the elevator, my head was bent down as I sniffed and wiped my tears away. Stupid feelings. Stupid Stella. Stupid Jack.

Trying to sound as normal as possible, I told the other guy standing in the elevator, "Ground floor, please." My voice was crackly and hoarse, and I gave a small cough to clear it up.

"_Kim_?"

I recognized that voice, and had to resist an irritated groan when I identified its owner. It was Ricky's.

Perfect timing. Ricky Weaver, just the person I wanted to see at a time like this. Second time that day. I think I was cursed with people I didn't want to see constantly showing up.

"What do you want, Ricky?" I asked, hoping my voice wasn't too croaky, and that I sounded convincingly annoyed.

"Were you… _crying_?" Ricky stared at me incredulously, taking in my puffy eyes, pink, tear-stained face, and red nose.

"No!" I answered defiantly, turning away as I faced the wall. "Quit talking, Ricky. We agreed we'd never associate again."

There was silence, which meant that Ricky had either decided to ignore me, or was contemplating what his next action should be: leave me alone, or ask what was up. Apparently, Doll Hair decided on the latter.

"Kim, just tell me, what happened?" By then, the elevator had reached the ground floor with a halt, but Ricky shut the doors close and pressed the button with the highest number. The elevator wobbled slightly before ascending smoothly.

I drew a deep breath, and while I didn't want to break down like some emotional diva and go pouring my heart out to the man who broke my heart, I unintentionally did anyway. The moment I breathed out, the story just came spilling out of my mouth – how I nearly kissed Jack, how Stella asked him out, how the idiot agreed, how I raced out, how Jack and I fought, how I nearly admitted I liked him, and how I just hated him now. By the time I was finished, Ricky already had to punch another two buttons on the elevator to stall for time.

We finally stopped at the third floor, where Ricky beckoned me out of the elevator when a girl stood waiting for it as the doors swooshed open. I followed him as he led me down the corridor, towards a deeper end.

"You're really upset, aren't you?" Ricky said sadly.

I nodded, before sending him one of my famous eye-rolls. "Captain Obvious, much?"

Ricky sighed and ignoring my comment, went on, "Look Kim, I know Jack really broke your heart today. But, there's also something else you should probably know."

This made me look up, my eyes glimmering with the slightest hint of interest as I looked at the mega pop star.

"What?"

"Jack was probably just using her to get to you. You know, make you jealous."

I stared at him with the same incredulous look he had given me in the elevator. Jack, using another girl, _just_ to make me jealous? That was completely absurd and un-Jack-ish.

"Ridiculous, Ricky. Jack would never do something like that. He's more straightforward," I scoffed. "If he really wanted to get the girl, he'd step up, get her number, ask her out, and take her on a romantic candlelit dinner for two."

"Right, but you're not like most girls, are you Kim?" Ricky questioned softly, raising his eyebrow.

And all of a sudden, Ricky's theory seemed to make sense. Indeed. I was not like other girls. Other girls fawned over Jack, begging for him to notice them, while I easily got to hang out with him everyday as a friend. And after he was so, well, _sort of _straightforward with it – impressing me by catching my apple, accusing me of having a crush on him, and taking me out for cheeseburgers, I still failed to get all his little hints. I still didn't want to be his girlfriend.

So, was it possible that it was too much for Jack to keep waiting anymore, and decided to resort to last possible way of getting to me – by making me 'Greene' with envy?

The whole theory seemed strange to think about, and completely not like something Jack would do, but considering the circumstances… It was possible.

/

I continued to ponder the theory as I left Ricky, my head still spinning in wild circles like those spinning rides at the theme park. It was all too confusing. I mean, Jack, using a girl to _get_ a girl? So unlike him. He wasn't a player, yet he wasn't shy… he was completely straightforward and completely clear and who he wanted to go out with and who he sought as a friend. And while this whole time, I think I was juggling in between both categories for him, Ricky's theory made me thinking that perhaps, I belonged in the former.

I sighed, and suddenly stopped in my tracks. I'd been thinking about the issue so much that I had just been walking around aimlessly the whole time. Stupid me. I glanced at the door to my left, when I realized it was Milton, Jerry, and Eddie's room.

If I couldn't hang out with Jack, I might as well chill with the others. They were pretty fun to hang out with, if you ignored all their juvenile jokes and blank expressions.

So, I rapped on the door with my knuckles.

I heard the loud scrambles and violent scuffles of feet, followed by several unintelligent screams and the sound of slapping, when the door finally opened with all three boys standing in the doorway, looking exhausted, as if they'd just fought with each other.

Actually, I think that's what they did to open the door.

The all looked kind of surprised to see me. Milton looked puzzled, Jerry went "Oh, hey Kim. Wait, Kim?" and Eddie… well actually, Eddie just kept smiling, but I could tell he was feeling kind of confused.

"Kim? Why aren't you with Jack?" Milton asked innocently.

At the mention of his name, I pushed Eddie out of the way and stormed right through the door in a mildly angry fit. "Don't mention his name," I muttered.

I could sense the boys exchanging anxious looks as they realized that their favorite pair of 'lovebirds' was quarreling with each other.

"Kim, what happened between you and…" Milton trailed off, tentative to say the name. I put him out of his misery by answering his question anyway.

"We nearly kissed," I stated, still feeling slightly edgy. At this, the boys' faces lit up like Christmas trees. "Then, he went to agree to go out with some over-sweet, sugared cupcake of a girl." I slumped onto one of the messy, unmade beds (probably Jerry's) miserably. The boys' shoulders sagged noticeably, and Jerry even let out a loud, audible gasp.

"A jerk, isn't he?" I commented, still slightly seething. The boys kept silent. They obviously didn't want to call one of their best friends a jerk.

Finally, Milton spoke up, "I'm sorry Kim."

I brushed his sympathetic words of comfort aside. "Nah, it's okay," I sighed. "I just…" I trailed off, contemplating on whether I should confess my problems to the guys. You know… about how confused I was, and how I fought with him, and how it so terribly obviously seemed that I liked him…

Then, I thought twice, and decided against it. After all, the boys won't exactly understand, would they?

"What?" Eddie egged.

I shook my head, standing up and hobbling towards the door. "No, it's nothing. I'm just gonna go now." Speaking with the other dudes wasn't help either. They just weren't as close to me as Jack was. They wouldn't understand if I told them about anything – even Milton wouldn't.

"Oh c'mon, Kim," Jerry whined. "We know you're all upset and everything, but you can still chill with us. Confess your probs, you know! We would _totally_ understand what you're going through!"

"No, you would not!" I snapped, whipping around to face three very startled boys, whose faces were ashen at the thought of me getting angry with them. "You would _never_ understand what I'm going through! You would _never_! Firstly, you guys don't know how my mind works. I'm a girl, for God's sake! Secondly, you guys have never experienced something like that before! Milton has a heavenly, wonderful relationship with his chemistry-obsessed, extremely geeky girlfriend Julie –" I ignored Milton's indignant protest and went on, " – and even though Jerry has a rocky relationship with Kelsey, you have still gone on several dates and have a blast when you're together. And Eddie, you insist you're some kind of player, but you're not, and even though you know it yourself that you're never gonna get any girls, you keep persisting anyway and…" I trailed off and blinked. I had no idea where I was going with Eddie's part. I had just been shooting words out of my mouth.

"Whatever," I continued in a snappy tone. "Whatever it is, you three would never understand what it's like to have a crush on your best friend, where you think he likes you too, and he goes ahead on a date with some sugary, honey-sweet diva!" I was inhaling and exhaling deeply, my breath ragged, as I glared piercingly at the guys.

But their expressions weren't what I expected. It was a mixed expression, actually. They of course looked alarmed at me blowing up like that… but there was a hint of…. _Cheekiness_? What? Was it something I said?

I ran that invisible record of what I had shouted at them back in my mind, when I suddenly realized what they were looking so cheeky and gleeful over.

"_Whatever it is, you three would never understand what it's like to _have a crush on your best friend, _where you think _he likes you too…"

Oh my God. Did I just admit that I liked Jack in front of the guys?

Kill me now.

"We were right!" Jerry finally exclaimed triumphantly, after mustering enough courage to speak. "We were right guys! Kim loves Jack!"

"_Kim loves Jack, Kim loves Jack, Kim loves Jack –"_

"_Shut up!_" I yelled at them, my Southern accent bouncing off the walls, generating a series of (mental) echoes. They immediately shut up with their stupid chant.

"I do not like Jack!" I retorted, red in the face, due to both anger and embarrassment.

"Yes you do, you just admitted it," Eddie said quietly, almost as if he were afraid to say it in a taunting tone.

"Yeah, so what if I did?" I asked, sticking out my chin defiantly. "I didn't mean it. I say loads of things I don't mean, and I didn't mean what I said this time."

"But Kim," Milton interrupted the minute I was done, "you were really mad back there. And usually, those who are mad don't take note of what they're saying. It's almost like their heart has control over their brain for a change. They don't realize what they're blabbing about, even if it's completely nonsense. They're just way too worked up. That was how you were just now, and if you asked me, you were mad enough to have unintentionally and accidentally admitted you had a crush on the butt-kicking black belt brunette of our dojo, which saved Rudy's martial arts academy from the 'Closed' sign."

I gawked at his speech, running the words back in my head about a gazillion times. As much as I hated to admit it, the words made complete sense. It was always the case.

But I couldn't say it aloud. I wouldn't hear the end of the taunts and teases. In fact, I don't think I even like Jack. That was a completely ridiculous idea.

"Point, Milton," I said, matter-of-factly. "But I still don't have a crush on Jack. And if you guys are gonna start your protests, don't mob me, I'm just gonna leave." I spinning around on my good heel, I hobbled out the door.

"Wait Kim!" yelled Jerry. I spun around again, expecting some kind of taunt about liking Jack.

"The guys are gonna come watch my dance crew, the Lone Wolvez's practice session," Jerry said. "And since you have practically no one to hang out with –" I shot him a glare " – maybe you'd like to come along too?"

I could see Milton and Eddie vigorously shaking Jerry's shoulders, mouthing 'No's' and making cutting motions with their hands. I sighed. Was I that bad that they didn't even want me there?

Well, then all the more to go.

"Sure," I agreed after three seconds of thought. "I'll come along."

/

Before we knew it, Milton, Eddie and I were seated along the mirrors of the cruise ship's dance studio (amazing, right?), watching in interest as Jerry's dance crew popped, locked, slid, glided, and flipped to Party Rock Anthem. The Lone Wolvez comprised of three other boys Jerry had managed to gather – a blond, shaggy-haired one named Jared, a spiky fair-headed, tall and built boy called Seth, and last but not least, a boy of about fourteen, who was a giant for his age and had a mass of tousled brown curls spilling out of his head.

My eyes drifting away from Jerry's dance practice, they wandered across the dance studio, observing the place. The walls of the studio were covered with mirrors, reflecting light in every direction. The floor was smooth and tiled, and circular table at the far end was there for radio-placing purposes.

Finally, the song ended, with the quartet each giving their trio of an audience a unique pose, funny looks on their faces. We applauded loudly – they were really good, except for that last pose there. The boys high-fived each other triumphantly, and Jerry declared a ten-minute break.

"That was really good, Jerry!" Eddie complimented him. "I wish I could dance like that. But nope, Mom only wanted me to learn salsa, and I totally sucked at that." He looked rather dejected.

"Thanks guys, any areas for improvement?" Jerry questioned.

"Yeah," I said, then brought up that final pose. Jerry waved his hand dismissively.

"Then we did an excellent job, because the pose was supposed to be like that," he declared.

I tried telling him that he then should probably change the choreography at the end, but I didn't get a chance to because at that exact moment I opened my mouth, the door to the studio flung open.

I gawked at the person standing there, and thought, _Well, there you go. I'm definitely cursed with people I don't want to see showing up at the wrong time._

"Hey Jack! You made it!" Jerry said cheerfully, pulling him into a man-hug and thumping him on the back. "You missed about ten minutes of the session, but it's cool, we've still got thirty to go."

Now I knew why Milton and Eddie so desperately didn't want Jerry to ask me to watch his dance practice. Jack had been invited.

When Jack's eyes fell on me, he seemed to be at a loss for words, when he finally managed to splutter, "Kim? You're here too?"

I overcame my momentary shock, and gave Jerry the deadliest death glare I had ever given anyone.

"Why did you invite me when you knew that _Jack_ would be coming?" I demanded loudly, this time, my Southern accent truly generating a series of echoes.

Jerry's hand was on his mouth, and he smiled at me sheepishly. "Oops. Forgot."

I rolled my eyes and scrambled up from my position the chair, a sharp pain shooting through my ankle for a split second, but I ignored it. Then, I turned and began hobbling out of the dance studio, slamming the door along with me.

How was Jerry so forgetful and so insensitive? Amazing, really, amazing.

"Kim! Wait!" I could hear Jack's voice, and the sound of the door slamming again and the thumping of his high-tops. I tried walking even faster, but it was no use, because once again, Jack caught up with me.

"Kim, I just want to talk," he pleaded desperately. "Please, just let me."

My eyes flickered with disgust. Here he was, the completely insensitive brunette, standing in front of me, begging for forgiveness. But upon seeing the sincerity in his dreamy chocolate brown eyes – wait, I'm mad at him! I'm not suppose to be calling his eyes 'dreamy' – my heart melted slightly and I sighed.

"Go ahead," I eventually said.

/

**So, did you guys enjoy the chapter? Hope you all did! My apologies that it was short (well, personally). And I'm sorry that Jack was only featured at the last part of the chapter, last paragraph. I know, sorry to all you Leo Howard/Jack Lovers. Anyway, I decided to include a bit more of the story with the other guys (those guys are rarely in any Kickin' It stories, and I feel they deserve some recognition. They're created for a reason, you know!), and I hope the scene was okay. Hope they weren't OOC or anything… though I don't think they were.**

**And in case all of you are wondering, (HURRAY!) Jack and Kim are gonna make up SUPER soon. YIPPIEDOODA!**

**Okay, well, school has started again, so I'll be busier now, and updates would be less frequent. But don't you fret! I'll try my best to update as quickly as possible for each chapter!**

**Thanks for reading! And remember:**

**REVIEW!**

**Peace Out!**

**Kelsey**


	7. She's Not So Bad After All

Chapter 7: Maybe She's Not So Bad After All

**OMG guys, sorry, LONG TIME NO UPDATE! :'( But I've just been so uninspired. I had huge writer's block for this chapter, and honestly, what TheWritingGames says on her profile is true. When I have writer's block, I don't want to write out crappy chapters for you guys, so I tend to wait a little while before updating. Sorry, but I hope you understand. Next time, if I haven't updated in ages, you'll know for a fact that I'm trying desperately to put together an awesome chapter for you guys.**

**And remember the last chapter, I said Jack and Kim were gonna make up soon? Well… it is soon, but not in this chapter. Spoiler alert. Sorry, I just didn't want to make it too cliché… and don't you guys fret, I'm not gonna make it even more clichéd with Kim singing at the talent show about her broken heart and everything. It'll be a little different… just a little something I'm planning on adding.**

**And a good point TheWritingGames brought up – sometimes, I sort of forget that Kim is injured, and make her do loads of stuff with her foot that is nearly impossible to do – soaking in the hot tub, tearing down a corridor – so, if I ever slip up again, just imagine that she's doing it all with her ankle broken. Well, except for the hot tub bit… now that isn't possible. But thanks Ariana, for telling me!**

**Oh yes, and remember to check out a new story I uploaded, 'Writers Wanted' if you haven't seen it! It's my first collab, with my awesome friend on , TheWritingsOfTaylor30! I'm sure most of you know her – she's popular on the Kickin' It archive. So… yeah, CHECK IT OUT IF YOU HAVEN'T!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Kickin' It or 'Last Christmas'.**

Jack took a deep breath and simply said, "Kim, I'm just so, _so_ sorry." He stared at me with his apologetic, sincere chocolate brown eyes, practically begging me to forgive him with those perfect, glittering orbs of dark brown.

There was a long silence, before I broke it and asked abruptly (and rather sharply, I must add), "Is that it?"

Obviously, that was not the reply he was going for. Yeah, right. If Jack thought that he could say like, six words to me, and then gaze at me with those beautiful, hypnotizing eyes of his, he was wrong. I wasn't going to forgive him with just a snap of my fingers. Life didn't work that way.

Slightly subdued, Jack gave a little cough before proceeding in a rather awkward manner, "Look, Kim, I'm just… really sorry. For everything that happened earlier."

So he was sorry. He had said it like, twice.

"But why?" I demanded, my brown eyes fixed on his sorrowful expression. "I mean, why are you sorry?"

Jack sighed. "Because Kim, I was a complete jerk. You don't almost kiss your best friend, then agree to go out with some girl you met like, three days ago." He sounded genuinely sincere, to be honest. But there was still this little bug in me that wiggled about and made me squirm uncomfortably.

The bug was a question.

"But then, if you just said that almost kissing your best friend then agreeing to go out with Stella made you such a huge jerk, then _why did you agree_?" I asked pointedly. "I mean, practice what you preach, Jack!"

Jack looked at a loss for words, and words seemed to be unable to flow out of his mouth. Sure, I should've known. Jack's always been a good actor. It must have been easy for him to pull off that sincere little speech that nearly got me to forgive him.

"No reason?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I… I…"

"I'll take that as a 'no'," I snapped. "And I'll give you a 'no' too – a 'no' to _'I am not going to forgive you'_!" Then, in a huff, I turned around and began stalking back into the studio.

"Kim!"

"_What?" _Out of frustration, I swiveled around again, my piercing brown eyes glued to Jack's anxious little face. "You don't mean a _single_ word you're saying, and you probably don't even know _why_ I'm mad at you, and _why_ I'm upset, and all you know is that whatever you did was wrong! _Anyone_ can tell me that what you did was wrong, Jack! Even Jerry!"

It suddenly occurred to me that the three boys were watching me and Jack's conversation, because I heard an indignant, "Hey!" Spinning around again, I saw all three of their ears squashed against the window, trying desperately to listen in on our conversation.

"Mind your own business!" I snapped, and three terrified boys fled from the window.

Turning back to Jack, and I continued harshly, "Look, unless you can actually apologize _properly_ for what you did, and give me an explanation for _why_ you did it, I am _not_ going to forgive you. You got that clear?"

And leaving Jack to stand there, with a helpless expression on his face, I flounced off.

And I _did not_ head back into the studio.

As I headed into my room, I slumped myself down on the bed, propping my broken ankle onto a pillow before pulling out my laptop and turning it on. Well, I was still in the talent show, so I might as well just keep practicing.

I'd decided on _Last Christmas_ in the end, because as of the current time, I had _loads_ of experience with liking boys (Ricky and _ahem-_Jack) and them throwing my heart away.

Well, I suppose with Jack it was just the way he was behaving about it. I mean, not that I actually have a crush on him or anything (_pfft_!), but he was a _real jerk._ _Especially_ to do that to his _best friend._ I mean, who does that? And that fact that he seemed so strangely casual about it – it just didn't make any sense! I mean, did you _see_ the way he started off his apology to me earlier? It barely passed as an apology – it was just words. They had no meaning.

I found the lyrics to the song, (I had yet to memorize them) and began softly singing them with the tune and everything. My voice came out on-pitch and quite frankly, melodious and pitch-perfect, if I do say so myself. I felt so comfortable, staring at the screen as I sang the words off the laptop. As I sang, my mind filled with images of how I could relate to the song. But strangely enough, while I tried to focus those moving pictures in my head on Ricky and I, my thoughts slowly traveled to Jack, and soon, pictures of the brunette seemed to have invaded my brain. And even though the song had a rather negative message behind it, all the pictures I saw of Jack… were happy pictures.

"_This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special…_" I sang the last line, giving it myown little twist my holding the last note slightly longer. As the note lingered in the air, I found myself flashing all the way back to the day Ricky Weaver came to perform at Seaford, and how Jack had been so protective.

Even though it had only been like, a few hours, I already missed speaking to him. As friends.

A knock sounded at the door, and hobbling over and peeking through the peephole, I was so surprised when I saw who it was.

"Stella?" I said in surprise as I opened the door to let her in. I could tell she was getting ready for her date with Jack and I felt a stab of jealousy. I could easily see why Jack got so caught up in the moment and agreed to go out with her. She looked gorgeous, especially when her dark hair was piled up atop of her head, held back by golden butterfly pins, and when she was donned in a shimmering, coral pink dress and fuchsia-pink heels. A beautiful diamond necklace resting upon her neck completed the look.

Well, the general effect of her beauty would have been much better if her face had not been contorted into an ugly, furious scowl.

The moment she entered, Stella stalked off towards the end of the room, pacing up and down the carpeted floor in fury, before sinking down onto my bed in hopelessness and anger.

"Stella… what are you doing here?" I questioned as politely as possible, not wanting to be rude or anything (though I would willingly be). "I mean… kinda weird, huh? We're not even that close…"

Stella stood up abruptly and marched straight up to me, a scowl set on her face.

"Kim, tell me now – do I look gorgeous or not?"

To be very honest, she was _extremely_ gorgeous.

"Well, yeah, of course, why wouldn't you?" I asked with a shrug, trying to ignore the green monster I was about to morph into.

"And how long do you think I took to get myself looking this perfect?"

Well, considering it had been three hours since she asked Jack out…

"Three, obviously."

"Yes!" she suddenly screeched, nearly ripping her pretty hairdo apart. "_Three hours_, to get ready for my date with Jack! And technically, about two more to go!"

The green monster itching inside of me, about to burst any moment.

"Well then," I said, trying to control my jealousy, "you must really like him, to spend such a long period of time getting ready for your date."

"Yes, I do, Kim, I really do," she said, staring at me with her emerald-green eyes, with an extremely sincere expression on her face. "He's so cute, and just like, _so_ worth spending loads of time over, don't you agree?"

I flushed red, not really wanting to answer this question.

"Well, I _thought _he was, but apparently, _he's not_!" Stella's sudden outburst startled me a little, because she had thrown her wrists up into the air, nearly smacking me straight in the face, and began pacing around again.

"What… what… but you just said…"

That's when Stella stalked straight over and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me vigorously.

And said something I'd never thought I'd ever hear her say.

"He _canceled _on me!"

Oh my (insert F-bomb) God.

Jack _canceled_ on Stella Greene?

What an unrealistic situation. I'd never expect it. I had no idea what Stella Greene was playing at, but whatever it was, there was no way.

I raised an eyebrow, slightly unsurely. "You… you're joking."

Stella shook her head, several tendrils of her coming loose from the butterfly pinks. I could see her eyes getting puffy, and I had a feeling the thick layers of mascara that caked her eyes were about to run.

"I'm not, Kim."

My mouth formed into a perfect little 'o', at the impossible thought of Jack ever cancelling on a girl before. Seriously, he had never done it in his life – he even told me once. He made it a point to go on every single date he had set up, no matter how late, how stupidly dressed, or how unwilling he was.

And I mean, this was _Stella Greene_ we were talking about – the girl he sacrificed his best friend for.

And he cancelled on her.

I was beginning allow the current piece of information to get absorbed into my brain, along with the rest of my tangled, muddled thoughts about love.

"But… but Jack's never cancelled on a girl before," I stuttered slowly. "He… he even told me. Personally." Hastily clearing my throat, and rested an awkward hand on Stella's arm. "It's alright, Stella. I'm pretty sure he did it because he really had to. He… he probably has more urgent matters to attend to."

Stella undid her hairdo in one swift removal of all her pins, allowing her dark long curls to come cascading down her back. Shaking her majestic waves to loosen them up, she tossed her butterfly pins away and sank onto the floor, all rather dramatically.

I find she was really being melodramatic. It was Jack Anderson, for crying out loud! Jack Anderson – a guy she had known for like, three days, who cancelled their date. She was acting as though she had just broken up with the love of her life.

"What urgent matters could he possibly need to attend to _on a cruise_?" Stella asked. "Do you know, Kim? I mean, you and Jack are close friends, right?" She then stopped short and her eyes widened. "Oh no! Kim, do you think maybe I was too forward? I mean, I've only known him for three days… Maybe I should have waited."

Three days, one week – what difference did both time spans make? It wasn't as if Stella lived in San Jose either.

"Or maybe…" Her eyes widened even more, her emerald green orbs twinkling as she seemed to recollect past events. Finally, with a swift leap onto her heel-clad feet, she pointed at me as realization seemed to dawn.

I backed away slightly.

"It's you!" Stella exclaimed triumphantly, shaking the finger that was pointing at me for more effect.

This made me more bewildered than ever. Sure, Jack and I fell out _because_ of this girl – that I can understand – but what has Jack _cancelling_ on her got to do with anything?

That's when realization dawned on me.

"You ran out after Jack agreed to go out with me!" Stella had started pacing up and down the carpeted floor again, the wheels in her pretty little head seemingly starting to turn. "Which means something huge happened to you guys before I stepped in." She stopped abruptly, tapping her heel against the floor, when she finally swooped towards me and grabbed my shoulders in excitement.

"OMG. OMG. OMG."

"OMG…?"

"You and Jack… you guys have… _a thing_, don't you?"

Even though that was sort of the answer, what came out was a big, draggy 'No', along with some vigorous head-shaking.

Oh what the heck. I was a terrible liar. It wasn't a surprise Stella saw straight through me.

"You _do_!" she squealed in excitement, as if I were her BFF informing her of a secret crush I have on this super hot guy in school.

Thing is, I was not.

"Oh, no, you do…" Her squeals trailed off when she realized what she had done. "OMG, are you telling me I've just sort of 'jeopardized' your relationship? Don't tell me you guys are fighting!"

I wasn't willing to answer the question, so I kept quiet. It seemed that Stella took silence as 'yes'.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Stella gushed apologetically, seating me down on my bed. "I never should have asked him out! It was too soon, I 'totes' ruined a beautiful romantic moment –"

"No, no, Stella, it wasn't romantic at –"

"I feel awful!" Stella burst out, grabbing my hand. "Oh, Kim, please forgive me!"

Wow. That was _so_ not the Stella Greene I thought I knew for the past few days. Who would have thought such a calm, cool and collected girl on the outside was such a drama queen when around her friends (I don't know if I'm a friend, it seems that I am).

I bit my lip. "Hey Stella, calm down, I forgive you," I laughed reassuringly. "You don't have to worry about anything. It wasn't romantic at all. We were just practicing for our act for the talent show."

Stella stared at me with sudden curiosity. "What act?"

"We're singing a duet."

"Which song?"

"'Last Christmas'."

"Love song?"

"More of a catchy, strangely happy-sounding heartbreak song."

"And what happened right before I knocked on the door?"

I flushed flamingo pink at the mere memory of Jack's lips half an inch away from mine. I remember having an enormous urge to pull away and continue with practice, because I knew that if we kissed our relationship would just grow even more complicated, and –

"Hey, tell me what you're thinking about!"

I shook myself out of my reverie, giving her a smile. "We had just finished singing," I lied. To my surprise, my words came out rather smoothly and casually.

"Oh." Stella's spirits in my 'thing' with Jack seemed to have dampened. "Well, then nothing happened?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

Stella sighed. "Well, Kim, I'd best be off. See you tomorrow in baking class." As she stood up, it suddenly occurred to me what she had just said.

"Wait, what?" I abruptly stopped her, my eyes flashing with anxiety. Her words had caused me to suddenly remember something.

"Baking class," Stella repeated, rather weirded-out by my expression and tone. "You told me you signed up, remember? I signed up too."

"Oh, great, yeah, see you," I said flatly, giving a subdued wave to Stella as she closed the door.

As I heard the sound of her clacking heels fade away, my heart filled with dread.

Baking class.

The only reason I had signed up was because Jack was in it.

**Well, so this chapter wasn't especially long, or super special, and frankly I find I didn't write a good piece of work, but it's hard to write well when you just have this whole bunch of dialogue going on, isn't it? **

**So, to sum it all up: Jack sucks at apologies, Kim is still really mad at him, Stella is not all that she seems to be (she's actually much nicer), and… Kim's totally dreading baking class because Jack is in it.**

**So the next chapter would be about baking class. Wonder how that would turn out…**

**Remember: REVIEW! Please do it. I need all the opinions I can get on this chapter.**

**~Kelsey xD**


	8. Now, we zall bake ze cupcake!

Chapter 8: "_Now, we zall bake ze cupcake!"_

**Hi! Thanks for the reviews guys! Like the title? LOL, obviously the baking teacher is French. Now, just to take note, by typing out the French accent and everything is in no way an insult to the French population. I'm just typing what I hear on TV. And while what I type may not be true, I'm still innocent, because I have very little French exposure. :P Later, the baking teacher would babble a bit of French, so apologies if the translation is wrong or anything. :P Oh yes, if anything about the French chef seems wrong… I'm not racist, so don't take it as an insult to the French people. Just trying to make my story interesting, okay?**

**Also, most say that Kim is a teeny bit OOC, so just take it as… her feelings for Jack are growing and she's getting confused. Or you could consider it as puberty. Whichever way. Whatever it is, I like her the way she is in my story, so I plan to keep her that way. **

**And one more thing: I haven't really been addressing the Secret Santa issue lately… so I'm addressing it in this chapter! Maybe the dates don't match up with the first chapter, so just ignore it.**

**Okie dokie, hopefully, this time the update was a lot quicker and suited your fancy, so… ENJOY! Oh yeah, this chapter's much longer, and I'm personally very satisfied with it.**

**Disclaimer: You guys already know. I don't own Kickin' It.**

Scrunching my nose up in the mirror as I desperately tried to satisfy an itch, I finished off the blond plait lying on my back with a flick of my elastic band. I was getting ready for the much-dreaded baking class.

Now that Stella knew that Jack and I had a 'thing', it aggravated me all night to think that today during baking class, she'd surely try to get us to make up. I suppose, in a way, she wanted to solve the problem she had started.

And while I would appreciate that, I was in no mood to face Jack, talk our feelings out like in those clichéd movies, and profess our 'love' for each other.

I sighed and checked how I looked in the mirror. With a sky blue top and a pair of dark skinny jeans, I looked as 'un-glam' as ever. Especially since I had my scruffy old pair of green sneakers to finish off my look.

As my eyes lingered on my reflection in the mirror for a while longer, I realized that I was wearing the exact same pair of shoes I had used to catch Jack's apple when I first stepped into the Bobby Wasabi dojo.

Great, another thing I needed to remind myself of Jack.

I was too lazy to change into a different pair, so I grabbed my black beaded bag and slung it over my shoulder, giving my room one final check before stepping out the door. As I shut it tight, I found myself face to face with an extremely psyched Stella Greene, who was flashing her pearly-white teeth with that enormous grin she was giving me.

She was dressed quite appropriately (yet cheesily) for the occasion – she had a pink top on that had a cupcake on it, as well as the words, 'Hey Sugah' on it. Accompanied by a pair of jeans as well as her very own red apron, she looked completely fit for baking. As I squinted, a realized that a pair of cupcake earrings were dangling from her ears.

Wow. Just… wow.

"Hey Kim!" she greeted me perkily. "Ready to head off to baking?" She raised her hand to wave to me, and I realized she had a bracelet of dessert-related charms on as well.

I nodded unsurely, and soon the two of us were headed off in the direction of the kitchen. When we finally arrived outside the door, I took a deep breath.

Let's hope this class wasn't going to be too painful.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Stella dramatically flung the door open, her arm hooked around mine in a rather 'BFF' fashion. I awkwardly shook out of the uncomfortable position, but Stella didn't seem to mind because she was too busy flashing a charming smile at our teacher.

"Ah, more students, come in, come in!" The teacher spoke with a heavy French accent and dramatic, flailing gestures. "I am Chef LeBlanc, and I would be your baking… uh… _teacher_!" With a quick gesture, he forced us to enter.

The kitchen looked fairly cheery, with creamy-yellow walls and a white-and-red checked tile floor. Black tables equipped with baking necessities were arranged in a two-by-four fashion, with four brown chairs around each one. All the seats were already taken, except for one empty table at the back. As I turned my head, I found myself staring at a huge, poorly drawn illustration of a cupcake on the blackboard, followed by the ingredients and recipe to bake it.

The teacher had whipped out a clipboard, and adjusting the pouf of his chef hat, he began scanning the list of names. "Your names?"

"Stella Greene," Stella answered chirpily. "_Bonjour, Monsieur LeBlanc._"

"Ah, so polite, so polite, _bonjour _to you too, _ma chérie!_" the chef chirped back in excitement. Checking her name off, he then turned to me, "And, ah, you, mizz?"

I flushed a deep red as he scrutinized me, probably waiting for some superbly French kind of reply. Thing is, I didn't take French – I took Spanish. I wasn't even sure what they were all talking about – they were going way too fast for comprehension.

"Kim Crawford," I answered awkwardly. "Uh, hi, uh, Chef LeBlanc."

The chef tutted at my lack of French-speaking abilities, and reluctantly checked my name off as well. He then put away his clipboard.

"_Ma chérie, ma chérie, _you can zit at ze back row," he said, guiding us to the only vacant table. As I assessed the room one final time, I realized that Jack had yet to arrive. That meant… well, since our table was the only one with vacant seats, he'd be stuck with us.

Great. Just great.

Then again, it was already so late and he hadn't arrived yet. Maybe he wasn't even going to show up!

"Sorry we're late, Sir!" A flustered brunette and a gangly kid had burst into the room.

I spoke too soon.

"Never mind, _je te pardonne_ your tardinezz, I am Chef LeBlanc, your baking teacher. Your names?"

I saw Milton hurriedly whisper a translation of '_je te pardonne'_ (what _did_ it mean?) into Jack's ear, who nodded and silently thanked him.

Milton then turned to the chef, and to everyone's surprise, a smooth string of French words flowed straight out of his mouth, _"__Bonjour, le chef LeBlanc, mon nom est _Milton David Krupnick, _et c'est_ Jack Anderson. _Nous sommes honorés de prendre part dans votre classe._" He then bowed politely at a pleased Chef LeBlanc.

"He said, 'Good morning Chef LeBlanc, my name is Milton David Krupnick, and this is Jack Anderson. We are honored to be taking part in your class'," Stella said, giving me a full translation. I nodded after comprehending.

"Ah, _magnifique_, Milton," Chef LeBlanc praised, checking his name off. "And thiz other dashing young man iz?"

I swear I heard a girl sigh dreamily as she gazed at Jack, and I rolled my eyes.

"Good morning, Chef, I am Jack Anderson." Even though Jack didn't speak French, or talk in some heavy French accent, he still got Chef LeBlanc's nod of approval, probably due to his politeness.

I clenched my fists. How unfair.

"You two boys can go zit at ze back, next to ze pretty girl." Chef LeBlanc directed them towards our table, at the same time smiling at Stella, who grinned back. I supposed she was the pretty girl, while I was the lame-o who couldn't speak French.

Jack stopped short next to our table, his eyes falling on me as he stared at me in anxiety. "Kim –"

"Just sit," I grumbled in return, tossing my head the other way as he took his seat. Milton sat between us, almost as if he were a protective shield to prevent evil eyes and lashing out.

Jack then craned his neck towards Stella. "And Stella, I'm so sorry for cancelling on you."

Stella held up her hand and gave him a soft smile. "It's fine. I'm sure you had a valid reason for doing so." I could feel her gaze direct towards me for a split second before casually pulling away.

"Now, we zall bake ze cupcake!" Chef LeBlanc announced, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically, a silver pointer in hand. He strode over to the blackboard and began talking in his French accent.

"Today, we zall all bake ze _chocolat_ cupcake," he said, rapping the blackboard. "I hope you all like ze flavor. It iz my favorite, after all. Now, just to make sure all of you have ze correct ingredients…" Then, he ran through the list of ingredients with us, before pointing out the important parts of the baking process, then leaving us to work on the cupcakes ourselves.

"I zall be walking around to check your progrezz," he finished off, before keeping his pointer and beginning his rounds.

Squinting at the recipe on the blackboard, I read the first instruction: _Preheat oven 350 degrees. Arrange pan with paper liner._

He had to work a bit with his English.

"Preheat the oven, arrange paper liners, got it." As I muttered to myself, I bent down towards the oven, when I realized that the oven on the ship looked nothing like the simple ones back at school. This one looked… much more complex. The buttons just confused me.

"How do I work this oven?" I wondered aloud. Jack stepped up and crouched down beside me, his shoulders touching mine. With a forced cough, he took the hint and inched away.

"My mom has the same kind of oven I think," he said thoughtfully, frowning at the array of buttons in front of him.

Rolling my eyes, I thought, _Duh. Rich old Jack has an expensive oven._

Reaching out, he cautiously pressed one of the buttons, and the little screen next to it lit up, revealing a digitalized '0'. Holding the same button down, the numbers escalated until it reached 350.

"Nice," Stella complimented him.

He didn't even bother smiling at her. She didn't seem bothered though, and egged on in her quest.

"Don't you think Kim?" Stella questioned. "Clever of Jack, to know how to operate an oven, especially one _this_ complex!"

I shot her a glare, and reluctantly muttered, "Yeah, very clever." Sighing, I grabbed the heavy silver pan that sat at the side of the table, before reaching out for the stack of paper liners. As my hand touched the plastic wrapping, Jack had reached out towards the same spot, and our fingers brushed.

Electricity seemed to fly between our hands, and I shot him a frosty gaze and said with gritted teeth, "I can line the pan myself, Jack."

Jack looked a little put out by my reaction, and his hand reluctantly slunk off the table and retreated. Grabbing the paper lines, and voraciously ripped with plastic wrap open and began taking them out two by two, messily arranging them in uneven rows on the pan. Stella sat beside me patiently, seemingly devising a strategy, while Jack stared at me timidly and Milton rolled his eyes in impatience.

"Kim, Kim, won't your entire life be much easier if you just did this?" As he said those words, he grabbed the stack of paper liners and dumped them all out onto the countertop, several of the fluttery pieces floating gently onto the floor.

Growling, I bent down to pick them up, nearly crumpling a few due to my aggravated grip. "Thank you, Milton," I said sarcastically, randomly pushing the liners around as I sorted them out on the pan. "Just what I need. A crumpled set of paper liners and absolutely _nobody_'s help."

Jack's face was contorted in guiltiness, and he reached out to offer a helping hand, but I ignored it and focused on the task at hand, furrowing my eyebrows as I tried to smoothen out a particularly crumpled paper liner.

Finally, I was done with the task, and I had altogether about 20 paper liners set out on the pan. Though some were still crooked, and some were crumpled, and some had torn just a slight bit, it was rather good work, considering I had done it all by myself, and I had been hindered by Milton.

As I wiped my brow, Stella helped to read the second instruction off the board, "_Next, melt chocolat until smooth in pot over stove." _Nodding, Milton reached out to find the packet of chocolate chips on our table, but surprisingly, it wasn't there.

My face written all over with confusion, I began to observe what the other tables were up to. They all had pots of the delicious, tantalizing brown gooiness of chocolate, melting as they concentrated on Step Three. We were the only Loser-Table that didn't even have _any _chocolate.

Sighing in exasperation, I raised my hand for Chef LeBlanc's attention, when I realized that it was a bad idea for _me_ to communicate with him. I was about to duck my hand down, but it was too late.

"Yez, _Kim_?" the French chef asked impatiently, sniffling in disgust.

I attempted to speak some French in a rather awkward manner. "Uh, _Monsieur… LeBlanc,_ we have no… _chocolat_." There, that wasn't so bad.

The chef's face softened and relaxed when he realized that I knew _some_ French, and began scanning our table for the sight of the tiny, addictive chocolate chips.

Nothing.

"Ah, I am sure we have a bag in zis kitchen," he said after a long pause of silence. Bustling off, he pushed open a cupboard, only to find rows and rows of pots and pans. The cabinet beside it was lined with the many different and confusing (well to me, anyway) types of flour, each classified according to type. Many more cupboards were flung open by the distressed man, only for him to proceed to burst open another one.

Still nothing, when he returned to our table.

Chef LeBlanc's face was scrunched up in irritation. "Ah, so irritating, chef from the Italian restaurant took all my _chocolat_ to cook his '_spezial Italian dezzert'!"_ He said the final three words mockingly, throwing air quotes beside his head. Then, judging by Milton and Stella's disgusted expression, he began swearing loudly in French.

"It's apparently not the first time that Italian chef has taken his chocolate, so… forgive the poor man," Stella hissed, her eyes still trained on the cursing French chef warily.

Finally, Chef LeBlanc calmed down, looking rather flustered as he faced a quartet of stunned students.

"So zorry, me got carried away," he hastily apologized. "Err… two of you come follow me, and take my _chocolat_ back?"

Stella's hand shot up in the air immediately, and she hopped off her chair eagerly, grinning at me knowingly.

_Oh no, please don't._

"I'll follow you, _Monsieur LeBlanc_!" she called out in a rather sweet manner. Swinging around, she continued, "And can… Milton come along?"

Oh crud.

"Ah, the more ze merrier, _ma chérie _Stella!" Chef LeBlanc said merrily, with a sudden change of mood. He then gestured wildly to Milton before sharply pushing him forward. "Come, come, let uz go demand back my _chocolat_!" And with the slam of the door, I was officially left at the table alone.

With Jack.

Oh crud.

I was in no mood to speak to Jack like, _at all_, so not even bothering to glance at him, I read off the next instruction, "_Mix all the ingredients on your table into one big bowl under electronic mixer, low speed, 30 sec. Scrape bowl."_

Grabbing the large metal bowl I found sitting at the edge of the table, I began searching for all the ingredients, pulling out of their containers and bags out and setting them out neatly in front of me. I skimmed the table for a sign of the measuring cups and spoons, and it was Jack who passed the spoons over to me.

As I received the spoon, I suddenly realized that it made more sense to start by adding something like the flour in first. Frowning, I turned to Jack to ask where the cups were, when –

_Poomph._

A cup full of flour had landed on my apron.

I looked up in shock and horror, fury surging through my veins when I spotted Jack sheepishly holding a measuring cup with a layer of flour on the inner surface, and the opened bag of flour next to him on the table. My eyes stared daggers at him as I roughly dusted off the white powder onto the floor.

"Jack, _why did you do that?_" I demanded, the volume of my Southern voice accelerating, as my anger grew more obvious and more prominent through my red face and clenched fists.

"Kim, I –"

"You…" I tried to find the words to yell at him with, but nothing tumbled out of my usually-chatty mouth. Angered even more by the loss of words, I decided that the next best thing to do was to reach my fist into the bag of floor and dump it on Jack's precious little hair.

That's exactly what I did.

Jack's jaw dropped open when he realized what I had done, specks of powder falling off his head as he shook himself vigorously like a dog after a bath. He spluttered, "Kim, you are _so gonna pay for that._"

And without warning, his itchy little fingers reached out towards my stomach and began tickling me.

I gave out a hysterical snort of laughter, and my voice choked with giggles, I half-angrily, half-irritated, and half-delightedly chortled to him, "Jack… s-stop it! Qu-quit tickling m-me!" My giggles grew louder and shriller, and soon I found myself rolling around on the floor like a pig, Jack's wiggling fingers still refusing to leave my sides.

"_Jack_!" I'd finally had enough. I was getting stitches, my sides were aching, and my cheeks hurt from all the laughter. Jack finally relented, pulling his hands away, before reaching one of them out to help pull me up from the ground. With another hesitant giggle, I sat up and found myself staring straight into Jack's chocolate-y brown eyes. They almost resembled those luscious chocolate chips Chef LeBlanc had gone to demand from the Italian kitchen.

And for the first time in what seemed like forever, I felt happy. Relaxed. Calm.

I felt… mesmerized.

Finally, I got snapped out of my trance when Jack spoke, "I'm sorry Kim. I truly am."

I wanted to open my mouth; I wanted to say just a few spiteful words that would completely spoil my first happy moment with Jack in a day; but I couldn't, because Jack's mouth moved before mine.

"I was a complete jerk. Like, seriously. I wasn't sparing a single thought for your feelings, and in fact, I think I just got caught up in the moment when I agreed to go out with Stella."

_Go on…_

"Truth is, I had a plan."

_A plan?_

"Yeah, a plan, which I contemplated for a long time on whether I should go with it or not. In fact, I'd actually decided not to, during that… practice session." Jack scratched his neck awkwardly, and I empathized with him.

"Then Stella came in and she flashed me one of her infectious smiles, and I kind of lost control, and whatever I had decided during practice session just seemed to have… gotten lost in my brain, somehow, and I went along with the plan subconsciously.

"What I'm trying to say is… Stella sort of made me lose my senses, and because of my stupid plan, which I had supposedly trashed during singing practice… I fell out with you. And Kim –" At this, Jack took my flour-covered hand and stared me straight into my hazel-brown eyes and said, "I'm sincerely, very sorry."

And I got lost in the same, chocolate-brown goodness all over again. And this time, all my feelings of hatred, resentment, dislike, and sadness towards Jack had faded away completely.

But there was one thing though… I had another bug.

"What was your plan?" I questioned softly.

Jack's hand let go of mind, almost shyly, and he scratched his neck again, almost as if he were trying to decide whether to let me in on his secret little 'plan'.

"I… I'd rather not say."

I sat back a little, furthering the distance between our faces, almost slightly put-out. Some feelings of dislike returned.

"Why not? I deserve to know what the plan is, if you're gonna apologize to me," I pouted.

His eyes flashed with worry, almost afraid that if he didn't tell me his huge secret, I could possibly never ever be his friend again.

I knew that wouldn't last, but I sincerely hoped he would tell me. Not only was I dying to know, but I also wanted to give up that stupid little tough-girl act and just go back to the way things were.

"I… I was using Stella."

_Using Stella?_ I blinked in surprise, unable to absorb any of the information fully.

"Using her? Jack, come on, I know you're not player."

"It's true!" Jack immediately protested. "I was using her." He calmed down slightly, before continuing, "I was using Stella to… get a girl."

Jack Anderson, using a girl, to _get_ a girl?

How completely absurd and un-Jack-ish.

That little sentence in my mental thoughts left me flashing all the way back to yesterday, during my conversation in the hallway with none other than Ricky Weaver.

/\/\/\/\/

_Ricky sighed and ignoring my comment, went on, "Look Kim, I know Jack really broke your heart today. But, there's also something else you should probably know."_

_This made me look up, my eyes glimmering with the slightest hint of interest as I looked at the mega pop star._

"_What?"_

"_Jack was probably just using her to get to you. You know, make you jealous."_

_I stared at him with the same incredulous look he had given me in the elevator. Jack, using another girl, just to make me jealous? That was completely absurd and un-Jack-ish. _

"_Ridiculous, Ricky. Jack would never do something like that. He's more straightforward," I scoffed. "If he really wanted to get the girl, he'd step up, get her number, ask her out, and take her on a romantic candlelit dinner for two."_

"_Right, but you're not like most girls, are you Kim?" Ricky questioned softly, raising his eyebrow._

/\/\/\/\/

My eyes widened as I flashed back to reality, comprehension dawning.

Stella Greene = Pretty girl.

Jack Anderson = Smooth, not a player.

Kim Crawford = A stubborn mule who would never admit it.

And the only way for Jack to get the girl who would never admit it?

Jealousy.

"Um… Kim?" Jack interrupted my train of thought, waving his hand subtly in front of my face. Blinking, I stared at him in shock for a few seconds before stuttering, "You used Stella Greene… to… get a girl."

Only at that point did I noticed that several nearby tables were staring at us. I shot them all looks, and they hastily turned away, alarmed.

"Yes," Jack answered softly, his gaze never leaving mine.

"And… which lucky girl may that be?"

Jack blushed, almost as if it made him shy just to admit it.

_Come on Jack, just say it._

"Tell me something about her." My statement made my face burn red.

Jack ducked his head down, before directing his gaze at me. "Her name starts with the letter K."

And then, we were leaning in all over again.

And this time, I didn't tell myself to pull away.

I allowed my eyelids to flutter close, and no voice-of-reason was echoing around in my brain anymore, telling me to forget about Jack and all romantic thoughts revolving him.

I allowed my body to lean in closer, and closer…

An inch apart…

"_We are back_!" announced a triumphant, heavily-accented French voice.

I abruptly pulled back all over again, my face red as I thought about what was just about to happen. I looked up from my position on the flour, only to see Chef LeBlanc, Milton, and Stella arriving over to our table, the chef's eyes twinkling triumphantly, and Milton and Stella looking like stone, stunned by whatever happened while they were away.

I shook my head vigorously, pulling myself up a little too quickly, almost as if I were trying to hide something.

My brain reeled as I thought about it.

Our faces inches apart, Jack's breath growing hotter against my cheeks, and that happy tingling feeling that surged through my veins.

We were about to kiss.

And I was happy about it.

"Great," I laughed unsurely, my eyes awkwardly pulling away from Stella's expectant gaze.

Chef LeBlanc's grin faltered when he spotted the flour-y white mess on the floor, as well as the empty metal bowl and Jack's nervous face underneath the table.

"You two didn't start? Zis iz an outrage!" His grin disappeared, and dumping the bag of chocolate on our table, he flounced off, stomping over to another table to check on their 'progrezz'.

"What were you two doing on the floor?" Stella asked, her voice filled with suspicion and hope all at the same time.

Milton crossed his arms, waiting for an answer as well.

My eyes flickered at Jack nervously, and I stuttered, "We were… trying to sweep up some flour that… dropped on the floor."

"Where's the broom?"

"We… used our hands!"

"How about the small traces of powdery substances on the floor? Usually those get left behind." This question came from Milton.

"We… cleaned it up _really_ good." This answer came from Jack.

I flashed him an appreciative smile. I was never good at lying.

Milton still looked suspicious, while Stella looked completely excited and on the verge of squealing.

"Something's not right…" Milton said, his eyes narrowing, those blue orbs darting between Jack and I. "And I'll get to the bottom of it. You'll see!" He then took his seat, starting to measure out the cups of flour and dumping them into the mixing bowl.

We all sat down, and wriggled around uncomfortably next to Milton and Stella before the excitable girl beside me leaned over. Finally, a quiet squeal escaped her glossy lips.

"You guys made up right? OMG, you so did, my plan to leave you two alone _totally_ worked!"

I flushed a bright red, and reluctantly nodded. "Yup." I glanced away before smiling at her sincerely. "Thanks Stella."

Stella grinned back. "I am such a genius."

And that's the last thing she said to me throughout the rest of baking class.

Why?

I was too busy talking to Jack.

/\/\/\/\/\

_Secret Santa gift. _

_For Jack._

_Yippee. (cue the sarcasm)_

Even though Jack and I made up and everything, and he was still my best friend, I still had absolutely _no idea_ what to get him. Plus, my Secret Santa present was already overdue.

I trooped back into my room to go grab my forgotten wallet so I could head out shopping for a Secret Santa gift. As I unlocked the door and went in, the corner of my eye spied a lavender-blue object. As I headed closer, I found myself staring at a lavender-blue envelope, with the typed words, "To Kim Crawford – Happy X'mas!" on it. Picking it up, I flipped it over and ripped off the flap to reveal a rose-scented piece of pink paper. On it, read:

_'To Kim Crawford, the girl who hates her real name,_

_Which personally, I find, is quite a shame. _

_Head down to that corridor we all found while we explored,_

_The ship and all its glory and galore. _

_There's a shop there, feeling lonely, right at the end,_

_Now remember this, and don't forget it, my friend. _

_Enter the shop, the bells shall ring,_

_Ask for the lady with all that bling. _

_Her name is Katy; she may possibly blind you,_

_But ignore it and do what you must do. _

_Give her your full name - yes, say it loud and clear,_

_And there are several things she would do after she hears._

_She'll ask you several questions, one by one,_

_Answer truthfully, or your present would be of none._

_The final question she asks, you answer with creativity,_

_Or whatever seemingly suits your fancy._

_The object she prepares next shall be done by Christmas Eve,_

_Now don't get all 'karate', your ears do not deceive. _

_Just you wait patiently, and you shall get it._

_And don't forget, I'm watching you – you must wear it.'_

After reading the poem, I felt completely puzzled. Why did my Secret Santa write me a _poem_, telling me to hike all the way down to an isolated corridor to get my own Christmas present? Which technically, would only be finished by Christmas Eve? Did that even make sense?

I sighed. I was starting to dislike my Secret Santa. He was so secretive. And poetic.

It's probably Milton.

Well, at least I wasn't getting a chemistry book packed with facts which I don't give a damn about.

In a matter of no time, I had taken the lift, hobbled all the way to that lonely corridor at the corner of the first floor, and limp down to the 'secluded shop'. Apparently, it was an apparel shop, and I could see why it was deserted - it sold nothing like the fancy clothes shops that sold designer fashions to those wealthy women who had enough money to go on a luxury cruise. Instead, the inside of the shop seemed rather gothic, with racks and racks of overflowing apparel. As I pushed open the door, the bells tinkled softly, producing a rather dainty effect.

As I stepped in, I received full view of the shop. Surrounded by black walls, silver racks of funky, colorful clothes stood in messy bunches all over the shop. Blindingly glittery decorations dangled precariously from the ceiling, threatening to fall on an unsuspecting customer. The counter was crammed with crumpled paper and calculators, and several bits of broken pencil lead were found littered near the cash register. A teenaged girl with a dark brown bob and horn-rimmed glasses was chewing the end of her pencil as she burned holes in was seemed to be an algebra question.

I coughed tentatively, attracting her attention. She looked up, revealing a pallid face and dark orbs behind her black glasses. Her mouth was twisted into a scowl, and she slammed her pencil and notebook down impatiently.

"Yes?" I could see she was trying desperately not to burst.

Wow.

"Um, I'm looking for…" _Do I say Katy or 'the lady with all that bling'? _I wished the poem had been more specific.

"Yes?" The teen girl had gotten a little bit snappy.

"Katy," I hurriedly said, filling in the blank that had been floating between us. "Katy."

The teen girl sighed, and said in a dull monotone, "I'll be right back." Standing up with a groan, she stalked through a black curtain that was seemingly a doorway to the back of the store, and she soon emerged with –

Ouch. My eyes.

Blinking, I found myself face-to-face with an ebony-haired woman. Her hair was streaked with hot pink, and dazzling diamond earrings reflecting light in every direction dangled on her ears. A stack of bangles were found on each wrist, and a rhinestone ring on each ring finger. She was donned in a dark purple dress, which flowed to her thighs and were cut off by black boots studded with gems. She smacked her gum, and when she saw the mess of balls of paper and calculators (now do I realize… why so many calculators?), she swiveled around to the disgruntled teen in annoyance.

"Janice, how many times do I need to tell you –" With one swift, but frustrated gesture, Katy had swept all the pencil lead and paper into a nearby garbage bin. "Stop littering the counter! It's bad for business." Harrumphing, she took a seat on the wheely chair, banishing Janice to the area behind the black curtain. Upon turning to me, her frown was turned upside down.

"Hello, and welcome to my shop," Katy said, flashing me a dazzling smile. "I apologize for Janice. So grouchy, so focused on learning… She must learn to live a little."

I gave a timid smile, almost intimidated by all that 'bling' on her.

"Just… just a quick question," I asked, almost afraid to be rude. "Um… not that your shop isn't cool or anything, but um… what is it doing on a luxury cruise ship?"

Katy gave me a secretive smile. "Many ask this question, and many don't get an answer."

_Okaaaay…_

No need to be so philosophical.

"So, how may I help you, dear?" Katy's smile seemed to stretch an extra mile.

_What did the poem say again?_

_Oh yeah, right._

"Um, I'm… Kimberly Anne Crawford." I winced, and I could see Katy nodded knowingly.

"Oh yes, well, answer a few questions, okay?" Katy whipped out a notebook covered in scribbles, and peered down to read her seemingly illegible handwriting.

"So, how did you end up in the Bobby Wasabi dojo, Kim?"

I was actually expecting more personal questions, but I had to follow the poem if I wanted my stinkin' gift.

"Well, I was in the Black Dragon," I began, slightly awkwardly, "but during a tournament, Sensei Ty ordered Frank to injure Jack's knee, and he was a really big cheater about it, so I quit and joined the BWMAA."

This felt so weird.

Katy nodded, then asked, "So, who's your best friend in this dojo, Kim?"

That answer was pretty obvious, "Jack. And maybe Milton too."

Katy's smile faltered slightly, but proceeded with her questionnaire, "Now, admit it or walk out – you had a love shrine of Ricky Weaver in your locker, until Jack protected you and prevented you from getting your heart broken into a gazillion pieces."

How many times do people want to bring up that totally awful, awkward, and admittedly awesome night?

"Yes," I mumbled.

"Good." Katy kept her notebook, then pulled out a white T-shirt.

Wait, I knew where this was going.

"So, you've answered all the questions, and according to your mysterious little Santa Claus, I have the complete liberty to ask you now, how would you like to customize this T-shirt?"

Bam – I knew it.

**And that concludes my longest chapter ever! Sorry if the ending seemed a bit abrupt, but technically, if I wrote more, that would be the last sentence too. I don't want to press into the issue of Kim deciding on her T-shirt design and everything… That'll bore me a bit, when it comes to writing.**

**Anyway, I know that Kim's Secret Santa is so weird and everything, but… yeah. I figured he should be a little bit annoying and mysterious, huh? But I had trouble coming up with questions… then again…**

**OMG, SOMEONE POST WRATH OF SWAN! I don't have DXD, sadly, so I haven't watched the episode yet, and all the parts on YouTube were blocked, and the episode was taken of Putlocker, and the only part that I've seen is the beginning, so ARGH, I'M DYING! I'm begging on my knees.**

**Alright, REVIEW!**

**-Kelsey:)**


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